Heartless
by Lonelyhearts97
Summary: My name is Crimson Hearts, daughter of the Queen of Hearts. I was born and raised in the Wastelands of Wonderland, a complete outcast to society. I've been trained to do whatever my mother asks of me. Lie. Steal. Kill. This life has become pretty normal for me, though that's not to say I enjoy it. What I feel doesn't matter though. Don't think. Don't feel. Just get the job done.
1. Chapter 1

_I wanna be a lot of things, so much pent up inside of me_

 _I wanna be stronger, too long I've sat here undecidedly planning strategy,_

 _Half of me knows it's all just a fallacy failing miserably, drastically,_

 _And then I crash dramatically into a wall,_

 _I've hit a hundred times before but I still ignore the dark red blood stains on the floor,_

 _And I'm back in front of you lord, with blood on the floor,_

 _Is the blood mine or yours?_

 _Don't wanna do this anymore_

 _Back and forth between being me and who you call me to be_

 _You see a man free who thinks he has to buy a key to a door_

 _But he can't 'cause he's poor and he can't fall down anymore_

 _'Cause he's already on the floor_

 _And his heart is broken and all this is his scar_

 _But it's warm from crying_

 _'Cause he will try nine times to realize nine crimes but he has more than nine lives_

 _So he picks himself up and keeps climbing for the prize again_

 _Here I come, come to you,_

 _Just to show the bloods soaked through,_

 _Through my bones, and all I own_

 _Is there a way for me to grow?_

 _I walk, to you, rain falls from you,_

 _Can you wash me?_

 _Can you drown me?_

 _Drown - Tyler Joseph_

They say the worst people can be turned good. That at some point, even the most violent and brutal people can realize their mistakes and ask for forgiveness, and then never do the crime again. I think that's a load of bull. How could someone ever possibly ask forgiveness? After a lie? A theft? A Murder? You chose to do the crime, and now your going to ask for forgiveness? _"I forgive you"_. It's just words. Something people say to make you feel better for what you've done. They could never really forgive you. It's all lie. And in knowing that, how could someone already evil be turned good? They can't. Any attempt to change who we are is pointless.

Even now, standing in a pool of blood, surrounded by decapitated heads and slaughtered bodies, I won't ask for forgiveness for what I've done. They didn't deserve to die, and there families didn't deserve to be left alone, but all the same, I won't repent. Sure, a small part of me still screams that it isn't right, that I had no right to so brutally take their lives from them, but it becomes a lot easier when you learn to tune that voice out and don't let your emotions get involved.

I didn't want these people dead. I didn't actively go seek them out and decide that they where going to die. They were soldiers, earning an honest living for themselves and their families. I was only sixteen, I had no disagreements with them. But she did. One of them acted out of line. One of them said something he shouldn't have. He offended her, and as a punishment, she wanted every one in his group dead as an example for others who might be tempted to disobey her. I didn't bother counting how many people there was in his group, but there wasn't very many. I didn't care. She wanted the job done and I would get it done. I couldn't disappoint her. I had expectations to live up too.

"Look at you, your soaked. I thought you could do a cleaner job than that." Said a loud voice from behind me. I slowly turned to face the person who was standing in the doorway. In front of me stood a vile woman, known as the one and only, Queen of Hearts. She was a tall woman dressed in different shades of red from head to toe. She had somewhat of a full figure, pale skin, and fiery red hair that was wrapped elegantly on her head. She wore a old Victorian gown and a small crown.

"I must have gotten carried away." I reply lamely. She was right though, I was covered in blood. She scoffed at me.

"Are they all dead?" She asked. I nodded. The slightest grin appeared on her lips. "Good. Because I already have a new assignment for you. Grab your things and go wash up. Meet me in the hall when your done. I'll get some one else to clean this mess up." Grab my things. She meant my ax. I turned slightly to find my ax wedged into some poor guys decapitated head. Right where I had left it. I turn back to the Queen who was waiting for a response.

"Yes, mother." I replied.

/

It didn't take me long to get cleaned up. I was in a rush anyway, afraid to keep my mother waiting. No one should be foolish enough to make that mistake. I quickly showered and threw on the first clothes I could find. I wore on a loose red half shirt over a black tank top, with a pair of tight torn black jeans with red hearts going down one leg. I threw on a pair of socks and my short black combat boots, before jumping in front of the mirror to get a good look at myself. I had already combed my pitch black hair, but hadn't bothered to properly dry it. Blood red eyeliner surrounded my light blue eyes. There where a few scrapes and bruises visible on my pale skin, which must have been from the soldiers I had killed earlier that day. They had put up quite the fight. In the end they where no match for me though. I was a trained killer, born and raised by the most violent and brutal villain known to man, the Queen of Hearts. It's true that she enjoyed chopping off people's heads, or watching them being chopped off more likely. She didn't like to get messy. I don't know what she got out of it, all I know is that she enjoyed watching them die. And when they were done, she would have the head sent to her collection room. Yes, she did have a collection room, specifically for all of the people she had ever had killed. I had never been in in there. I never wanted to be. I just did my job, and that was it. I couldn't dwell on what I had done. I had to keep moving forward, not feeling, not caring. Whatever job my mother had for me, I would do it.

Finally, before I left my room, I grabbed my weapons belt and attached my ax to it. I had taken long enough that my hair was at least halfway dry, and I looked halfway decent. I quickly walked down some of the many halls to reach the main hall where my mother waited. We lived in a large and rundown castle in waistlands of wonderland. The waistlands where were all outcasts and the exiled of wonderland lived. The place was barely livable, as it was constantly dark and hardly anything could grow out of the dry land. We managed though, sometimes by steeling food from travelers of wonderland who came to close to the waistlands border. It wasn't ideal, but it worked. But in the center of the dark and rundown land, stood my mothers castle. They say after Alice and the White Queen banished my mother, she came here completely enraged. She had been violent, and killed any one who crossed her path. So, out of complete fear, the people of waistland joined her, as well as people from her old army. Soon she had complete control, and had the people build her a castle. Just by looking at it anyone could tell that it hadn't been professionally done, and would eventually fall apart, but it was a castle none the less. The whole building had been painted different shades of red, inside and out. The Queen absolutely loved it.

I finally made it to the entrance of the main hall and opened the door to find my mother sitting in her large throne with her head held high. Two guards where stationed on either side of her. The room had large blood red painted walls with filthy and torn golden draperies surrounding large windows and hanging over the stage that held my mothers golden throne. I walked forward onto the red carpet that led down the center of the room, and stopped once I reached the stairs directly below the queen. I got on my knees and put my fist over my heart. A formal salute to the Queen, required by anyone who dared talk to her, including her daughter. I looked up to see the queen smiling.

"Crimson, my darling. Stand." I rose to my two feet and looked up at her. She waved at her guards. "Leave us." She waited until they where gone before she spoke again. "I have a task for you. You've heard of Auradon, haven't you?"

"You mean that place where all the Heroes live? I mean, beside the people of wonderland?" Of course I knew the place, villains talked about it like it was the worst place on the planet. Which of course, it was probably the exact opposite. About twenty or so years before, someone by the name of Belle married a beast, who just so happened to be a prince. They married, and then the former beast and now king decided to join all of the kingdoms together, so they could all live in peace. But of course for this to work he would also have to deal with the villains. So, his great solution was to throw them on an island know as the "isle of the lost" where they could never escape, had no magic, and no freedom. By this time of course the Queen of Hearts had already been defeated, and was just getting started in her rule over Wasteland. The White Queen refused to move her to the isle though, in fear that my mother might somehow escape during transportation. So king beast agreed to leave her and everyone that was already in Wasteland here. Unknowingly, he had left my mother an army to train. So while we lived in waste, and the other villains lived on some skimpy island, they got to live in paradise.

"Yes that one. Well recently they got a new king, who had the brilliant idea of allowing villain children from the isle of the lost to start attending some of there schools." She answered.

"Ok, what does that have to do with us?" I asked. A wicked smile appeared on her face before she stood up and began to walk towards me.

"Well you see darling they had started out with only four kids, kind of a... Test run, so to say." She slowly began to walk around me, observing, as if waiting for me to do something stupid. "He picked the children of some pretty dangerous villains, but that didn't seem to matter. They all chose to be good in the end."

I looked at her, confused. "How did they just decide to become good?"

She snorted. "Beats me. Even the daughter of the most powerful villain on the isle is dating the king now. I heard she even took down her mother to be with him."

Took down her own mother? Is that even possible? "I still don't understand what that has to do with us." I stated.

She circled around until she stood directly in front of me. I held my breath. "It has to do with us, because after those four became good, he decided to let more villains come to his schools. And that my dear is exactly what your going to do. But not just any school. The Kings school. Auradon Prep."

I looked at her with my eyes wide. School? When was the last time I had even been to school? I mean sure we had one, but no really cared for it. Why did it matter now? "Why? I'm not even from the isle I doubt they'll let me go."

"Oh that's already taken care of. I sent a letter to him myself. He was more than willing to give you a uh... Second chance. The White Queen was a little reluctant on the idea though."

"But why?" I asked again. She frowned. She was getting impatient with me.

She took a step forward so she was standing directly in front of me. I had to tilt my head back to look up at her, since she was considerably taller than me. "Because, this is our chance to take back my power. My control. All you have to do, is bring me back the Kings head. Imagine the chaos. The people without a king, without order, they won't know what to do with themselves. That's when I'll strike, and take Auradon, and with that, take back Wonderland."

"Why can't you just send someone up there to just kill him now?" I asked. As soon as I spoke I immediately regretted it, as she brought back her hand and slapped me hard across the face.

"So many idiotic questions!" She exclaimed, before whipping around and walking back up the stairs to her thrown. She sat down and glared down at me. I kept my head down and slowly brought my hand up to my cheek where she had hit me. It hurt. It was ok though, it's not like it was the first time. The queen let out a sigh. "These things have to be thought through carefully. A murder like this isn't completed in just one day. We're talking about killing a king here, not some peasant who's managed to piss me off. He's going to have guards. People will constantly be around him. You have to get close to him, find out his schedule, when he's alone, and then you strike. And besides, all of the exits the lead out of wonderland are heavily guarded, so I wouldn't be able to send just anyone. It has to be you."

I nodded my head. "Yes mother."

"Go pack your things. You leave in the morning."

I quickly turned and walked out of the hall. I'm leaving this place? To go live with heroes? I mean come on, there the reason that us villains are stuck in dark places like this. And what's this about a second chance? I'm disgusted. I don't want to go to that awful place. But still a small part of me feels... Relieved. I finally get to go see more than a barren wasteland.


	2. Chapter 2

_Put on your war paint_

 _You are a brick tied to me that's dragging me down_

 _Strike a match and I'll burn you too the ground_

 _We are the jack-o-lanterns in July_

 _Setting fire to the sky_

 _Here comes the rising tide_

 _So come on_

 _Put on your war paint_

 _Cross walks and cross hearts and hope to dies_

 _Silver clouds with get lining_

 _So we can take the world back from the heart attacked_

 _One maniac at a time we will take it back_

 _You know time crawls on when your waiting for the song to start_

 _so dance alone to the beat of your heart_

 _Hey young blood_

 _Doesn't it feel like our time is running out?_

 _I'm gonna change you like a remix_

 _Then I'll raise you like a Phoenix_

 _The Phoenix - Fall Out Boy_

I didn't pack much. Just a few clothes, a toothbrush, and at the bottom of my bag, I hid my ax. I hadn't bothered sleeping that night. There had been too much to think about. What where the people like there? Did they really turn the villains good?

I doubt it.

I sat at my window watching the dim light of the sun rise behind dark clouds. That was the most light that the Wastelands ever got. I watched and waited as the sun went higher and higher into the cloudy sky. The thought of leaving this place somewhat scared me, though I would never admit that to anyone. I had grown up here. Though this place wasn't great, it was all I had ever known. And now I'm being forced to leave it for someplace new. With people who I had never even met before, yet already hated. I was about to drift into sleep when I heard a knock on my door. I immediately jumped up and opened the door to find two guards. "The carriage is ready to take you to the doors of wonderland." They said.

I sighed. "Alright, I'm coming." I quickly brushed my hair and grabbed my bag. I hadn't bothered changing out of my clothes from the day before. I quickly walked through the door and shoved passed the guards who then turned to follow me to the front of the castle. A black carriage sat waiting for me. In it also sat my mother, who I guess was coming with me to bid me farewell at the exit. I walked down the steps of the castle and hastily threw my things inside the carriage before jumping in myself, and sitting directly across from my mother. As the carriage started to move I watched outside the window until the castle was no longer in my sight.

"Are you going to be silent this whole drive? You know it's a shorter drive than you might think." The queen said.

"No. I'm just thinking."

"Of?"

"Of what Auradon will be like I guess."

"Ha. All you should be focusing on is how your going to cut off that kings head." She stated, glaring at me.

"I'll get it done mother. But do I have to cut off his head? Can't I just kill him?"

"If you don't cut off his head there's no trophy."

"I guess." I replied, and the carriage became completely silent once again. I had turned to look back out the window when she suddenly grabbed a hold of my shirt and yanked me forward so her red eyes where right in front of my blue ones.

"You listen to me. I did not go through all this trouble for you to blow it now. You will kill the king, and you will do it right. You will not disappoint me. Do you understand me?"

"Y-yes." I said, my voice stammering.

"Good." She said before letting go of my shirt and looking out the window. If she really needed too, my mother could be terrifying. She would do anything in order to get her point across, and to remain in complete control. I looked down and noticed my hands shaking. _Don't act like a coward_ , I thought. _Not now._

Before I even had a chance to calm myself, she spoke again. "I have a gift for you. Though I can hardly say you deserve it." I stared blankly at her. In all of my sixteen years of life not once had she ever given a gift to me. For a moment I even believed she might be joking. "Don't look so surprised. It's to help you get close to the king. Hold out your hand." I quickly stuck my hand out, my curiosity taking over. She reached forward and placed "the gift" in my hand. I pulled my arm back to see two small shiny gems hanging off of two small necklace chains. One gem was white, and the other was red.

I looked up at her, slightly confused. "What are they for?"

"There called listening charms. There the only pair in existence. They where gifted to me and my sister while we were still young, by a magical witch. My sister wore the white, and I wore the red one. We were surprisingly close at that age." She said, with no change of expression. "If You wear one gem, you will be allowed to see into the memories and the thoughts of whoever is wearing the other gem. Be careful though, if the other person wearing the gem finds out about the power, they could use it against you. The power goes both ways between the gems if you know how to use it." She motioned to the gems in my hand. "Get the king to wear one of the gems, and you'll have his head in no time." I looked down at the necklaces in my hand. Could they really have that much power? I put the red one on, and clenched my fist tightly around the white gem. The pressure of the mission was finally starting to set in.

I placed the white necklace in my pocket, before asking, "Does she know you have these?"

"My sister? Of course not. I told her that I had lost them before she banished me."

I stayed silent for another minute. "But... Why were you and the White Queen given these necklaces?" Suddenly, The carriage stopped. "We're here." My mother stated, ignoring my question, before opening the door and stepping out. I grabbed my bag and quickly stepped out from behind her. We were at the base of a tall grey mountain, with tall green trees surrounding the small clearing that we were standing in. Around us stood at least twenty guards, all wearing the silver armor as a symbol of the White Queen. Our two scrawny guards dressed in red looked pathetic compared to them. Was this plan really going to work?

"Well this is where we part ways." My mother said and turned to look at me. "Good luck, my dear." She said sarcastically. I looked at her and then at the guards surrounding me. I took a hesitant step forward, but stopped as one of the guards moved forward to stand next to me. I stared at him until he spoke. "Keep moving."

I jumped slightly at his voice but walked forward until I stood directly in front of two guards who stood right in front of the side of the mountain. They looked down at me before turning and walking in opposite directions to reveal a small door that had been hidden behind them. I stared at it for a minute, dumbfounded.

"This is it? This is the great exit that you have twenty guards protecting?" I asked, on the verge of laughter.

"One of them." The guard responded, clearly not understanding my sarcasm. Or not caring.

I slowly reached forward and grabbed the door handle and opened the door. Behind the door all I saw was black. I turned and got one last look at my mother, and Wasteland, my home, before stepping through the door and shutting it behind me.

/

All around me was complete darkness. I stood frozen, afraid to move any further. There could be anything in front of me, a rock, a trap. What if it had all been a lie, and the White Queen was just trying to get rid of me? I mean, I had never done anything to her, but my mother sure had. Maybe I'm just paranoid. And maybe the white knights could have thought to give me directions. I mean I know they didn't like me, but come on. How was I supposed to know anything about portals? I wasn't even allowed to use them.

I stood in the darkness a little longer, before deciding that nothing was going to happen by me just standing still. I took one hesitant step forward, and then another, and another. I started to gain some confidence. I hadn't ran into anything yet, and hey, maybe if I kept walking another door would appear. I tried desperately to look around, but to no avail. Everything was pitch black. I squeezed my eyes shut and kept walking. I had to concentrate.

Don't think, don't feel.

I am not afraid.

Don't think, don't feel.

I took another step forward, and suddenly realized that there was nothing there. No ground to step on, nothing. It was too late though, as I had already taken the step, and went plummeting down into a tunnel, screaming at the top of my lungs.

/

I might have only been falling for a few minutes, but it felt like hours. When I first saw the light at the bottom I was releived, but then I began to panick as I realized how fast I was flying towards it. Maybe I was going to die after all. I squeezed my eyes shut and wrapped my arms around my chest, unsure of what would come next. I began to feel a light pressure around me, and it felt warm. Suddenly I felt the soft grass beneath me, and slowly opened my eyes to see a dark tunnel above me. I jumped up and away from the tunnel, unsure of what to expect, but stopped when I saw where I was. I was surrounded by various ethnic buildings, all in different shapes and color. All around I could see plants and flowers with varying shades of greens, purples, and every other color imaginable. And the sky. It was _blue_. The sky was actually blue! There was so much light, so much color, I really didn't know whether to be terrified or excited.

There was a loud cough behind me, and I jumped at the noise. I turned around to face a large man in a tux and dark sunglasses. "Are you Crimson?" He asked.

"Uh - yes." I said.

"Good. Did you bring any luggage?" I looked around me. Where was my bag? Ask if on queue the bag suddenly dropped out of the portal and onto the ground. I quickly grabbed it and walked towards the man in the tux.

"Right. Then follow me. The schools a short walk from here." The man said, before walking away. I quickly fell into step beside him, looking around the foreign land, trying to soak it all in. Suddenly curious, I began to ask questions.

"Soooo... the portal just kinda sits out in the open like that?"

"That one is just an exit of Wonderland. The entrance is elsewhere."

"And me falling through that tunnel... How did I not die when I hit the ground?"

"I've never been in it. I'd assume that the magic of the tunnel slows you down before you hit the ground." He responded.

"Oh... So what are you like a agent or something?" I asked

He looked down at me with a scowl on his face before looking forward again.

Someone has an attitude.

I decided to stay quiet the rest of the walk, which wasn't long. We soon reached a large white building that looked at least three stories high. The front of the building had a large garden with various plants and a large fountain in the middle. Teenagers were scattered throughout the gardens, either reading books or laughing with friends. They only stopped when one of them noticed me, and pointed in my direction. Slowly, everyone stopped what they where doing to get a good look at me. I could hear them whispering as I passed by. What were they saying? I couldn't make out any of the words. I decided to ignore them and kept my head high as I marched on behind the guy in the tux.

We kept walking until we reached the large fountain in the center of the garden. There was a statue in the fountain of a tall man made completely out of copper. At the base of the fountain stood another teenager in a blue suit, who looked similar to the man in the statue. The agent guy stopped in front of him and gave a slight bow.

"Your highness," he said before gesturing to me. "Crimson Hearts."

The person in the blue suit turned to me and gave me a warm smile. He had a light skin tone and brown hair that seemed to match his eyes. He walked over to me and stuck out his hand. "My name is Ben, king of Auradon. It's a pleasure to finally meet you." He said.

I looked down at his hand and then back up at him. So this is the almighty king? This is going to be so easy. I shook his hand and let a small smile form on my lips. "You too." I said. He smiled back broadly before taking back his hand and speaking again.

"We are happy to welcome you here at Auradon prep. We have a few transfer students here as well as in other schools,"- By transfer students I knew he meant villain kids, but I didn't bother interrupting him- "We were surprised when we received your mothers letter, but more than willing to accept. Everyone deserves a second chance." And with that my smile suddenly faded. I don't know why that statement made me so mad. What second chance? Was there ever a first chance? They forced me to grow up in darkness, and now they suddenly think they can change me? These people are idiots.

He must have noticed my expression change, because he was quick to change the subject. "Uh- I have a tour guide waiting for you. She's my girlfriend actually, but she used to live on the isle of the lost, so she might understand a little bit of what your going through. She's gonna show you to your dorm, but then she'll take you on the tour of the campus."

A large part of me was still angry from his statement from before, but I knew I was going to have to get over it. I need to fit in. Get on the Kings good side. Not make him my enemy. I smiled and gave a slight nod before young girl around my age walked up to us. She had long purple hair, and bright green eyes. She wore a dark purple leather jacket and matching pants, with a pair of black boots. Amongst the bright colors and smiling people, she definitely looked out of place. She stuck out her hand."Hi. My names Mal, part of the welcoming committee of Auradon Prep." I shook her hand and said hello, a little shocked and slightly relieved to see someone who looked as out of place as I'm sure I did.

"Alright well I'm going to let you too get to know each other, and if you need anything, feel free to ask me." Ben said to me. I gave him a simple nod before he turned and walked away.

"Excuse him. He just got crowned a few months ago, and now that school started back up, he's been having a hard time keeping up with All his work." Mal said.

"It's fine." I said. She turned and gave me a small smile.

"Listen I understand what your going through. The change from a villains life to this one isn't easy."

 _And impossible_ , I thought to myself.

"I was able to transfer with a few of my friends and they went through the same thing. Just stick with us and you'll be alright, ok?"

"Ok." I said. To be honest I wasn't at all interested in her or her friends. They're lying to themselves if they really believed that they had suddenly turned good. No on can just change from evil to good.

"Alright well let's go check out your dorm," she said walking towards the large building.

/

I followed her until we reached a door with the number 310 on it. Mal pulled a key out of her pocket and used it to open the door. As soon as the door slid open though, my jaw dropped. Everything in the room was pink. The blankets where pink, the curtains where pink, even the flowers on the curtains where different shades of pink. I had been excited about the new colors before, but this was... Hideous. The room looked like something out of a pathetic princess fairy tale. I could hear Mal snickering next to me and I turned my head slightly to see what she was laughing at. She stopped laughing when she saw me turn.

"Oh I'm sorry I just love seeing the people's reactions when they get their rooms. Everyone in Auradon seems to have it in there head that every female yearns to be a pretty princess dressed in pink. Mine was like this too when I first arrived. It was pretty awful. But hey, at least you have your own dorm."

"That is a plus." I mumbled, before finally walking into the room and setting my bag on the bed.

"Yeah. Well hey, I can help you spruce it up a bit, get rid of some of this pink." She said motioning to the whole room.

"Yeah that would be great." I was desperate. This room needed to change.

"Alright well you get settled in and I'll be back in ten ok?"

"Ok."

Mal set the key on a nearby stand before shutting the door. I immediately threw myself onto the bed, burying my face into a bright pink pillow. I was exhausted. This place was so different than anything I had expected. I don't know what I had expected really, but it definitely wasn't this. Everywhere I looked there was bright colors and smiling people walking around. Life was going to be difficult here. I looked down at my dark clothes and sighed. It was going to be especially difficult to fit in. Oh well. I reached down into my pocket and pulled out the small white necklace. At least the king would be easy to kill. He was so innocent, so trusting. It was kinda sad really, having all that hope only for me to shatter it. But I was so exhausted. I had spent most of my day traveling and going though magic tunnels, plus I still had a tour to go through. So though I had a job to do, I decided to hold it off until the next day.

 _Tomorrow I will get to work,_ I thought to myself.

 _Tomorrow I will start planning._

 _Starting tomorrow, things will change._

And things did change, but not in the way I expected it too.


	3. Chapter 3

_Been through the ringer a couple times_

 _I came out callous and cruel_

 _And my three friends know this very well_

 _Because they went through it too_

 _The four of us where initiates_

 _We had to learn how to deal_

 _And when we spotted a second chance_

 _We had to learn how to steal_

 _Hollowed out and filled up with hate_

 _All we want is you to give us a break_

 _We're driving fast in my car_

 _We've got our riot gear on but we just want to have fun_

 _No we're not looking for violence_

 _Tonight we want to have fun_

 _No ones the same as they used to be_

 _Much as we try to pretend_

 _No ones as innocent as could be_

 _We all fall short we all sin_

 _But now we aren't looking backward_

 _We won't try raising the dead_

 _We only see what's in front of us_

 _We only see straight ahead_

 _Hollowed out and filled up with hate_

 _All we want is you to give us a break_

 _We're driving fast in my car_

 _We've got our riot gear on but we just want to have fun_

 _No we're not looking for violence_

 _Tonight we want to have fun_

 _Fast In My Car - Paramore_

The next morning I was woken up by the bright light of the sun shining in my face. Still half asleep, I stumbled over to my window to look outside, and was surprised to see that the sun hadn't even fully risen over the city yet. I turned and looked back at my alarm clock that sat on the nightstand too see that it was only 6:00 am. Well so much for going back to sleep. I had to be downstairs in an hour. I sighed and decided to go clean up before the day started. I wasn't really looking forward to going to school. I had never been very good at it, though it's not as if I tried. Plus, the classes here are a lot different than the ones in Wasteland. History of pirates? Robotics? _Remedial goodness 101?_ Seriously what is that? Mal said that remedial goodness was pretty pointless, but she was in it too. Every villain kid was.

The tour of the campus had been long. Mal hadn't talked much, but she wanted to show me everything, and the campus was huge. There are multiple buildings throughout the campus, plus a large Tourney field, a band room, and a library that was so large it required its own building. By the time I had gotten back to my room I was even more exhausted and fell asleep immediately.

I still hadn't unpacked anything, so when I finally got out of the shower I just threw on whatever was on top of the bag. I threw on a loose red tank top and a tight black sweater that's sleeves where cut at my elbows and had a read heart on the shoulder. I wore a pair of ripped black shorts and my old combat boots. I threw on my make up the same as always, and quickly brushed my hair. Finally, I threw on the red listening gem necklace and threw the white one in my jacket pocket. When I finally decided I was ready, I walked over to the door. I stared at the door handle and lifted my hand to reach out for it, but stopped. I couldn't bring myself to open it.

On the other side of that door lived a completely different world. Yeah, the bright pink room wasn't very normal for me either, but at least I was by myself in there. Here you were expected to be friendly. To socialize. Neither of which I was very good at. I had always been the outcast of Wonderland, even of Wasteland. People had always refused to talk to me out of complete fear of my mother. No one would sit near me, no one would even mention my name, since they where too afraid of what I could do to them as well. They had every reason to be afraid. But it did leave me to a very lonely life, and I couldn't help but wonder if things here were going to be the same. If they knew everything that I had done before I probably wouldn't even be here. They'd probably have me sent back as soon as possible.

I sighed and put my hands into my jacket pockets. In one of my pockets I felt the white necklace. I pulled out the necklace and looked at it.

That's right. I'm here on a job.

My life here won't matter in the end anyway.

/

When I got downstairs to the cafeteria there where many people scattered throughout the room. Most where in large groups chatting away and eating there food. I slowly walked to the front of the room and grabbed a tray before picking up a plate of food, not bothering to look what I was being fed. I grabbed a bottled water and walked out of the line. I had started to walk towards the first empty table I saw, when I heard someone shout my name.

"Crimson!"

I jumped slightly, and then looked around to find who had called my name. Suddenly in the farthest corner of the room, I saw a girl with bright purple hair waiving her hand frantically in the air trying to get my attention. As soon as I looked at her she signaled me to come over to the table, where her and a few other kids sat. I stared at her for a blankly. Was she inviting me over to her table? Never before had someone invited me to sit with them. Everyone from before was just too afraid.

Slightly confused, I slowly began to walk over to her table. As I was walking I noticed a few of her friends watching me. Each one of them seamed to have their own style, nothing that looked from Auradon. They must be other villain kids. When I reached the table Mal turned to me. "Sit with us!" She said.

I sat my tray down next to a blue haired girl and across from Mal, who was sitting next to two other boys. "So! The girl sitting next to you is Evie, this one next to me is Jay, and the one next to him is Carlos." Said Mal. Evie seemed to be dressed in blue leather from head to toe. She wore a jacket and skirt, with a small silver crown on her head. She had pale skin and wore dark red lipstick. The boy right next to Mal wore blue jeans with a yellow and brown leather vest. Jay Wore a red beanie over his long dark brown hair and dark skin tone. Carlos wore everything black and white, with small splashes of red. His shorts and shirt where made up of different patterns of black and white, while his jacket was white with red sleeves and had fur surrounding the collar. His hair was completely white, with black roots. At Mal's introduction they all waved at me and gave small smiles.

"Hi."I said, unsure of what else to do. I heard a small squeal next to me.

"Aww she's shy!" Evie squealed. I wasn't sure if I wanted to punch her or yell.

"Be nice E. Not everyone takes those comments lightly." Mal said, as if she had read my thoughts.

"Oh I was just kidding! Ooh tell me - what do you think of Auradon?" Evie asked.

"It's good... I guess. Very... Colorful." I responded.

"I know! Isn't it magical!" She exclaimed. I stared at her for a minute. This girl was a villains child? Really? How the hell did she survive? I gave a slight nod and then turned to my plate of food. When I looked at the food, my eyes went wide. _There was so much food_. There was a pile of scrambled eggs, bacon, assorted fruit, and what I believed where waffles.

"What, never seen this much food in one sitting?" Jay asked.

I looked up at him. "Had you? Before?"

"Ha. No. But people in Auradon eat like this all the time. Plus the foods pretty good." He said while piling food into his mouth. I quickly picked up my fork and shoved some of the food in my mouth. He was right. This was the best food I had ever tasted. I quickly looked up at him and then back down at the food before I began to shovel more food into my mouth.

"Woh! Slow down! The foods not going any where!" Mal said.

"This is the best shit I've ever tasted." I mumbled in between bites. The four snickered at my language and continued to watch me pile more food into my mouth. I looked up at them, slightly offended.

"What? You've never seen someone eat before?" I said with a mouthful of food.

They laughed. "Sadly we have. You have about as much table manners as Carlos." Evie said. I snorted and looked over at Carlos, who hadn't spoken a word this whole time. I was slightly surprised to see him staring at me. He looked curious, as if he was observing me. Suddenly he smirked. "Don't take that as a compliment."

I stared at him, confused, but he just looked away and went back to eating. How weird. Was he shy? I was trying to think of something to say to him when Evie began to talk again. I think she was saying something about a sewing club. I honestly stopped listening. I continued eating until all of the food was gone, and was about to get up, when I saw a bright blue tux out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head to see Ben walking towards our table.

"Ben!" Mal shouted. Ben walked over to Mal and gave her a small kiss before sitting down next to her.

"Good morning." He said to no one in particular. There were various hellos and good mornings from everyone at the table.

"You look exhausted dude." Jay said.

"I am. The seven dwarfs are complaining about wages again and I have a project due in chemistry tomorrow." He said.

"Sounds like a lot of work." Mal said.

He nodded and was silent for a few more moments before looking up at me.

"Crimson! Hi! How are you adjusting?" He asked.

"Fine." I responded. Why does everyone keep asking me that?

"Good. Do you have everything you need?"

"Yup." I responded.

"Great." He said, obviously trying to sound cheery. He really did look exhausted.

Ben turned to Mal. "Hey listen, Mal, I'm not gonna go to school today. I'm just gonna stay in my room today and get work done. I'll catch you later, K?

"The king of Auradon is ditching? Ha! Yeah ill see you later." Mal said. Ben smiled at her comment about ditching and then gave her a quick kiss and left. I got up to leave to when a thought popped into my head. The Kings room. That would be the perfect place to get this necklace to him. All I have to do is put it in a box, write that it's from Mal, and leave it on his door. As I started to walk to my first class I smiled. This was going to be too easy.

/

The first class I had that day was Robotics, which wasn't easy to find. It was in the science building, which was on the opposite end of campus from the cafeteria. I was completely lost, but too stubborn to ask for directions. At one point I had even ended up in the English building. I did eventually find it though, but I was a good fifteen minutes late. That didn't bother me any, but apparently people at Auradon had a thing about being on time. When I opened the door the whole class looked in my direction, including the teacher. They all seemed to stare at me as I walked into the room, which only made me hold my head higher. On the inside though I was cringing, wanting nothing more than to just disappear. I didn't get very far into the room though, as I wasn't sure where to sit. All the students where paired off in large two-seated desks.

I heard a slight cough and looked up to see the teacher looking at me. He was a short older man with grey hairs sticking in every direction. His clothes looked pretty dirty, and he was definitely on the heavier side. "And you are..." He said hesitantly.

"Crimson," I stated. "I recently transferred."

The teachers eyes widened. "Oh yes! I heard I was getting a new student! Welcome! You may call me Maurice." He said excitedly. _What an odd name,_ I thought. Maurice smiled broadly. "Your a little late, but since it's your first day, I won't mark you down. There's an empty seat in the back next to that young man in the white jacket. He's one of my best students, so he should be able to help you catch up with the rest of the class." He said pointing in the direction of the empty seat.

I looked to the back of the room where Maurice was pointing to see an empty seat, and right next to it, was Carlos. When I looked at him his eyes caught mine, and they stayed locked like that for a couple more seconds until I started walking to the back of the room. I could feel the rest of the class staring at me as well until I finally took my seat and turned to face the front of the classroom. They all quickly turned their heads to face Maurice who cleared his throat.

"Alright where were we? Oh yes we were talking about what would be the best way to power a cleaning machine. Well you see..." I tuned out. God this class was already boring. I put my elbows on the table and rested my head in my hands, already drifting deep into thought.

"Hey." Someone whispered.

I turned my head slightly to see Carlos looking at me.

"Uh, hi." I whispered back.

"So your interested in robotics?" He asked, giving me the same curious look as before. Maybe he wasn't shy.

"Not really. I don't know. I've never taken this before."

"It's basically building stuff. Figuring out how things work, how to make them better. I enjoy it."

I snorted. I wasn't much of a inventor, and wasn't exactly planning on becoming one. Well then again I wasn't exactly planning on becoming anything.

"It's fun. We build all sorts of weird stuff. You never had anything like this back at your school?" He asked.

"I don't know. I mean I doubt it, but I hardly ever went to school. It didn't really matter if you went or didn't, the teachers would pass you either way. My mom only made me go for the basics, math, English, science, and history."

"Oh." He said, before looking down at his desk. "Well maybe you'll enjoy it."

"Maybe. I'm certainly not not enjoying this lecture."

Carlos smirked. "Nobodies enjoying this lecture." He said. I looked around the room to see that half of the kids where falling asleep, while the other half where quite obviously day dreaming. Maurice continued to excitedly ramble on about powering things, oblivious to the fact that no one was paying any attention. I let out a small laugh, and out of the corner of my eye I could see Carlos look back up at me, his eyes wide. I looked back at him, his dark brown eyes catching mine again.

"What?" I said.

He looked at me a moment longer before smiling. "Nothing." He responded, before looking back at the teacher.

I stared at him. "What do you mean nothing? Don't lie to me."

"It's nothing, really."

I glared at him for a while longer, before it became obvious that he wasn't going to say anything else. I quickly snapped my head back to face the board, where Maurice was still rambling. I was too irritated to try and listen though. Why had he looked so surprised? Nothing makes me more mad than when someone won't tell me something. What's worse was that he was still smirking, as if he knew that not telling me was making me mad. I sighed and rested my head on my hands once again. This is stupid. I should probably just let it go. I glanced at the clock at the front of the room and saw that I still had twenty minutes left in that class. I still had a long day ahead of me, and there was no point in getting worked up so early in the day. I kept staring straight ahead at the lecture, deciding to ignore Carlos. Out of the corner of my eye though, I swear I could still see him smirking.

/

The rest of the day was pretty slow. After robotics Carlos said goodbye and I grumbled a small "bye" before marching out of the room, still irritated at him. I wasn't even sure why I was irritated at him at that point, I mean it's not like I had too much to be mad at him for. After that though I had English, math, and PE. The classes hadn't been all to interesting, so I was pretty relieved when the school was finally over. I sighed. The day wasn't over yet though. I still had work to do.

I was walking back to the dorms, carrying five new school books with me. I wasn't too thrilled when some of the teachers told me that I had to take them in order to do assignments that would be given to us later. That wasn't the work I was planning on doing at that moment though. No, instead I had to go find king Ben's dorm room. Now that might sound easy, but when's there's 200 boys dorms and no way to ask anyone about his dorm without sounding suspicious, it gets a little difficult. Annoying, really.

When I got back to my dorm I set the books in a corner and was about to leave when I noticed my bag still sat unpacked on the bed. I stared at it for a moment and considered unpacking it. I honestly didn't see the point. I obviously wasn't going to be in Auradon very long, and when I did finally leave I'd probably be on the run since I will have just murdered the king. A part of me kind of wanted to unpack though, but I wasn't exactly sure why. I walked up to the bag and felt around inside it until I found my ax at the bottom of the bag. I pulled it out of the bag and held it out in front of me. The wooden handle was worn from years of use, and the metal head seamed to be permanently stained with blood. Looking at it reminded me of everything from before. I was a violent killer. I didn't belong in Auradon.

I took my ax and hid in the back of the closet under a few extra blankets that had been left in there. I left the room quickly after that, and headed straight for the boys dorms. The boys and girls dorms where split in half, so half of the girls and boys dorms where on the second floor, and the rest where on the third. The first floor was just the lobby and the cafeteria. My room was on the third floor, so I decided that it would be best to start looking through the dorms on that floor. Each of the doors head a small plaque of who was sleeping in that dorm, so it wouldn't be too difficult to find him. Mine didn't have a plaque yet though. Maybe it was because I was too new of a student.

I quickly reached the boys dorms and started to read off names. Occasionally someone would pass me and stare at me questioningly. I didn't really care. I continued to search the third floor for about a good 40 minutes before I reached the last one. _Its not here_ , I thought. The dorm must be on the second floor. I turned and began to walk back, silently cursing and somewhat frustrated, when I saw him.

Ben was standing in the middle of the hallway with his back facing me. I quickly darted behind a corner and waited a few more seconds before slightly sticking my head out to see if he was still there. He was. He seemed to be chatting with some other student, but I didn't exactly know who it was. I wasn't exactly sure what to do at that point, since Ben was blocking the only way out of the boys dorms. _Maybe if I followed him he'd led me to his door._ I shrugged. That actually wasn't a bad idea. I decided to wait there until he was done talking to follow him. The conversation didn't last any more than a couple minutes, but soon it looked like they where saying their goodbyes. I was about to get ready to follow him when someone whispered into my ear. "What are we looking at?" I jumped back and away from the wall, and had to bite my tongue to keep myself from shouting. Automatically enraged I looked over to see who had snuck up on me to find a broadly grinning Carlos.

"What the hell! You -" I couldn't bring myself to say the next words.

"I what? Did I _scare_ you?" He said mockingly.

"No!" I exclaimed before pushing him out of the way and peeking my head back around the corner to find an empty hallway. Ben was gone. I loudly cursed before running off in the direction I thought he had been heading.

"Hey- wait up!" I heard Carlos shout behind me. I ignored him as I kept running, taking different turns and hoping that I was headed in the right direction. I wasn't. I ended up running straight to the back of a dead end hallway, and skidding to a stop. I whipped around to see Carlos barely catching up to me and gasping for air.

"Where the hell where you going, and why did we run." He said in between gasps. I glared at him and clenched my hands into fists. If I wasn't afraid I'd get myself expelled I probably would have beat the crap out of him right then and there. Instead I let out a breath of air and tried to calm myself down.

"Mind your own business." I growled.

"Wow you do have a temper. I thought you got irritated a little to easily earlier." He said, a grin returning to his face.

"Your trying to make me mad?" I asked.

"Maybe. Maybe not. It's not that difficult either way."

"God your annoying." I stated before shoving past him and putting my clenched fists into my pockets. I only took a few more steps before I froze. Both of my pockets where empty. The second necklace was gone. I began to panic as I scanned the floor in front of me seeing nothing. I turned full circle, my breath quickening, and my heart beginning to race, when I saw Carlos dangling a white gem in front of him. I was going to kill him.

"What an odd necklace." He said, examining it.

"How did you- give that back!" I yelled before marching back up to him. He simply lifted the necklace above his head with an outstretched arm, keeping it out of my reach.

"My roommates a trained thief. Let's just say I've learned a few things." He said, his eyes gleaming.

My blood began to boil. "I don't care. That necklace is important to me. I'm not asking you. Give. It. Back." I said trying to keep my voice level.

"Whys it so important?" He looked back up at the necklace. "It does look different. I've never seen anything anything like it. Except for that one around your neck of course. Why do you need two?"

I didn't bother responding to that, partly because I didn't really know how to answer him. It's not like I could tell him what it was and why I needed it. Instead I just glared at him and stuck my hand out, waiting for him to give it back. For a moment he just stared down at me as if he was trying to figure out what to do. Suddenly a small smirk grew on his face.

"I think I'll keep it."

I didn't even hesitate. I brought my fist back swung with all my strength, but at last second he dodged it. He tried to dart around me, but I swung my leg out hitting him in the shins, causing him to fall. As soon as he hit the floor he quickly rolled out of the way and jumped up.

"Woh! Take it easy! How about this? You apologize for almost knocking me flat, and I'll give it back." He said with a mischievous grin on his face. I couldn't believe it. This idiot still thought it was a joke.

"I don't apologize. And this isn't funny." I stated.

He laughed. "Maybe to you it's not. Oh well, looks like I have a new necklace. It would probably sell for a pretty price but... I think I'll keep it." He said.

"Why are you being such an asshole? You don't know what your messing with!"

"Why? Is it magic?"

"No."

"Then there's nothing to worry about. And I have my reasons." And with that he turned to walk away. I could have marched after him and stopped him. It wouldn't have taken me much to bash his head into a wall or break his neck, but I didn't. I couldn't, actually, because I knew it would blow everything. But I couldn't understand it. Why wasn't he afraid of me? And why did he insist on picking on me? It's like it didn't bother him about who I was, or who my mother was. He just didn't care, and because of it he thought he could just do whatever he wanted. This wasn't a joke though. At least it wasn't to me. He was so confusing. At first he barely talked at all, then he decided to completely drop this shy image that he had just so he could pick on me? Maybe he hadn't been shy in the first place. But then how he had looked at me. He just looked so curios, like I was something he had never seen before. At the moment I wasnt sure if that bothered me or not. I was too furious at that point to think about that though as I watched him walk further and further down the hall, when suddenly he stopped.

With out turning he said, "Oh yeah, and Ben doesn't have a dorm room. He sleeps in his own room in his parents castle, since it's close by." My eyes widened and I gasped, but before I could ask how he knew what I had been looking for, he had turned a corner, and was gone.


	4. Chapter 4

_Do you ever feel like breaking down?_

 _Do you ever feel out of place?_

 _Like somehow you just don't belong_

 _And no one understands you_

 _Do you ever wanna runaway?_

 _Do you lock yourself in your room,_

 _With the radio turned up so loud_

 _That no one hears you screaming_

 _No you don't know what it's like_

 _When nothing feels alright_

 _You don't know what it's like_

 _To be like me_

 _To be hurt_

 _To feel lost_

 _To be left out in the dark_

 _To be kicked when your down_

 _To feel like you've been pushed around_

 _To be on the edge of breaking down_

 _And no ones there to save you_

 _No you don't know what it's like_

 _Welcome to my life_

 _Welcome to my life - Simple Plan_

 _/_

 _"Mommy?" I said, peaking my head around the corner. "The guards said you wanted to see me?"_

 _I could see her standing in a far corner of the empty room, her head turned upwards towards a some sort of painting. Other than that one painting the room was completely empty. There where tall windows that covered each wall. She turned her head to face me. "Yes. Why are you hiding? Come here dear." She said in a soothing voice. I automatically knew something was off, but decided to ignore that feeling. Instead I jumped out from behind the wall and excitedly ran until I was standing directly in front of her. She crunched down to be at my level._

 _"Now today is a special day. Today you turn seven years old. Can you tell me why that's so important?" She asked. I shook my head no. "Well, today is the day that you start training so you can be just like my mommy. Aren't you excited?" I didn't respond to that. My mother could be terrifying, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to be like her._

 _"How can I be like you mommy?" I asked._

 _She smiled a sickening smile. "With a lot of practice."_

 _She suddenly moved away from where she was crouching to reveal a small cat that had been hidden behind her. It was my cat. My father had brought him home when he was just a kitten, and I had promised to take care of him ever since. He was now about three years old. He had all black fur and bright blue eyes. He meowed and stood up when he saw me. "Kitty!" I squeaked. I was about to to run towards it when my mom grabbed my shoulder. I looked up at her, confused. "Can I play with the kitty mommy?"_

 _"No." She said before turning and pulling out a knife from a bag that had been placed next to the cat. She she held it out to me, and I hesitated before taking it._

 _"What's this for?" I asked. She suddenly put her hands on my back and pushed me towards the cat, who was just sitting on the ground staring at me. He began to purr as I got close to him. As soon as I was standing right next to the cat she stopped pushing me and took a step back._

 _"I want you to kill it." She said. I looked up at her in shock._

 _"Why mommy?" I asked._

 _"Because it's not good to have attachments in this world. They only get you hurt." She responded._

 _"But it's just a kitty." I responded as tears began to stream down my face._

 _"Do it." She said, her voice stern. I looked down at the cat who was looking up at me, his blue eyes shining. I threw the knife across the room._

 _"I don't want to!" I screamed, and brought my hands up to wipe away some of the tears. Before I could react she marched forward and brought her hand down hard across my face, making me fall backwards. I began to cry harder as I brought my hands up to my face._

 _"You will do as I say!" She shouted, before turning around and marching towards the door._

 _"Mommy!" I screamed. She ignored me and kept walking towards the door. When she finally reached it she grabbed the handle as if she was going to shut it, but before she did she stopped. I tried to stop my sobbing, my breaths getting caught in my throat._

 _Without turning she spoke: "This is only the beginning dear. If you think it's going to get any easier than this than you are very wrong. An attachment will only slow you down. You have to learn to ignore any emotion you have, and cut out the voice that tells you not to. Once you do that, everything will become so much easier." She said, before walking out of the room and shutting the door. I began to scream again, calling for my mommy and daddy. No one came for me._

/

I woke with a start, sweating and gasping for air. My cheeks where wet with tears, and when I brought my hands up I noticed they where shaking. I got up and walked over to the window, trying to calm myself down. I hadn't had a dream like that in a long time. It wasn't exactly a dream though. It had happened, a long time ago. For my seventh birthday I was shut in a room and told to kill my cat.

I pulled back my curtain to see that it was still dark, and probably nowhere near sunrise. I sighed and sat on the windowsill. She had been right though. That day had only been the beginning. I had learned to tune that voice out. I had taught myself how to not let emotions get involved with my work. That doesn't mean I never felt anything after I was done though. After I could really process that I had just brutally taken someone's life. It's really easy to not think or feel while your doing something. It's only afterwards when you have to face the consequences do you really start to feel. I of course never had any consequences for killing someone. That didn't stop the odd feeling that I had done something wrong though.

I don't know how many people I had killed. I don't even know half of there names. But I do remember the look of horror on their faces, the last screams, the last cries, all when they realized that they where going to die. It wasn't a fun job for me, but I did it. For my mom, and for my dad wherever he's at. He had disappeared a few years ago. My mother was terrifying, and I was afraid of what she would do if I stopped working for her. Maybe it was selfish, but I was raised to be selfish. I was raised to kill. I was raised thinking the life that I lived was normal.

I honestly always knew that the Heroes out in Auradon never had to do what I did, but I thought that was just what I was supposed to do. I was supposed to be the killer. I was supposed to be a villain. It's what I was born into it right? The Heroes lived their lives, and the villains lived theirs. As I used to tell myself, We are two completely different types of people. But that never seemed to stop that small feeling of sadness that crept inside me as I watched innocent people take there last breath. That last look of fear, that last look of sadness, and then they where gone. I had never really gotten the chance to make a choice on whether or not I actually wanted to kill people. I was just kind of forced into it. At this point though, after everything... It's too late for me. I can't be "saved". There is no second chance. There's no such thing as forgiveness either. It's just... Too late.

As I continued to stare out the windowsill, I felt a single tear roll down my cheek. I didn't bother to wipe it away. Instead I sat there, staring off into the night, until the first light of sunrise began to show.

/

The classes that day where particularly boring. I didn't bother trying to pay attention. Since the lack of sleep from the previous night, the constant worry over what Carlos was doing with the necklace, and the question of how-he-knew-that-I-was-looking-for-Ben's-dorm. It would have been impossible to stay focused. It was almost over though, and I was heading to my final class of the day, remedial goodness 101. I wasn't very excited for the class, considering it sounded pretty stupid. Was the class supposed to teach me to be good or something?

I arrived at the class early, and sat in a seat nearest to a window. There where only two other kids in the classroom, neither of which I recognized, but both had their own unique styles. _More villain kids_ , I thought. I sighed and turned my head to gaze out the window, when I heard the chair next to me move, and a loud thud as someone sat down. I quickly snapped my head around to look at who had sat next to me. Automatically I found myself looking into the playful eyes of Carlos DeVil.

I wanted to punch him. Out of all of the empty seats in the room, he just had to sit next to me.

Instead of physically hurting him, I quickly turned my head to look at the board in the front of the classroom. The only time I turned my head again was when Mal, Evie, and Jay walked in, who where talking loudly as each walked around to find their seats. As they passed by us they each said their hellos, and then went to sit in the middle of the class room, Mal and Evie sitting together, while Jay sat alone. After they left I kept my head forwards, refusing to move and refusing to look at the annoying person next to me. As if he noticed that I was purposely ignoring him, he leaned in close to me. "Are you still mad at me?" He asked mockingly. I turned and looked at him as if that was the dumbest question I had ever heard.

Before I had the chance to speak, an older woman in a blue dress suite walked in and to the front of the room. As soon as she got there she began to speak in an incredibly cheery voice. "Good afternoon! Today we will be answering a few questions and then learning about a young lady who learned from her mistakes and decided to do good! By the way, we have a new student today. Crimson, welcome! I am the Fairy godmother!"

I simply nodded my head at her, and she smiled. "No need to be shy in here!" She said before turning around and writing on the board. She seemed to be writing a question and then giving possible answers of A, B, and C. As I was trying to figure out what she was writing, I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I ignored it.

I heard an annoyed sigh next to me. "You don't have to be that mad. I'm just curious. About the necklace, I mean." Carlos whispered while the teacher began talking to the class.

I looked over at him with a raised eyebrow. "Why are you curios about it?" I questioned.

He shrugged, and without looking me in the eyes he said, "I've never seen anything like it before. It's very... Unique."

I glared at him."Yes and it's not yours. By the way, how did you know I was looking for Ben's dorm room yesterday?"

He laughed. "I heard people saying that there was a strange girl dressed in red walking around reading all the name plates to boys dorm rooms. I only figured out who you where looking for when I found you spying on Ben, which also leads to the question, _why where you looking for Ben's dorm room?_

I stared blankly at him. I wasn't sure what to say. I quickly turned my head and looked down at the desk, avoiding Carlos's now questioning gaze. "I... Uh... Had to ask him a question. And I didn't want others to hear about it." I said quickly.

He stared at me for a little longer before responding, as if he where deciding if I was telling the truth or not. "Really? And what question was that?"

I looked back up at him. "What part of 'not wanting others to hear it' did you not get?"

He opened his mouth as if he was about to defend himself, but he was cut off. "Excuse me? You too seem Awfully chatty. Do either of you have the answer to these questions?

We both said a simultaneous "uh" and then quickly looked at the board to read the question. I could hear a couple snickers from around the room.

 _If you find a puppy on the ground do you_

 _A. Steal it_

 _B. Turn it into a coat_

 _C. Look for the owner_

I was in a mix of wanting to die of laughter and of wanting to scream at her. What a stupid question. And what a direct hit at Carlos. Does she do this to the other kids? It was only when I read the question below it did I get my answer.

 _If someone doesn't listen to you do you_

 _A. Hit them_

 _B. Cut off their head_

 _C. Talk it out_

Now I was going to yell.

"What the hell are these questions?" I asked, my voice beginning to rise.

The fairy god mothers eyes widened. "Now now, please refrain from cursing. These are our good and bad questions. All you have to do is tell me what a good person would do."

I stared at her dumbfounded. How dare she. How _dare_ she. Why does she think she has any right to call us out like this?

Carlos leaned over. "Both of the answers are C." He whispered.

"I know what the answers are. These questions are for little kids. Honestly, who wouldn't get this right? Any idiot could give the correct answer to these." I said, loud so everyone could hear me.

"Now," said the fairy god mother, "these questions are just supposed to teach you right from wrong."

As if he could see that I was about to argue, Carlos suddenly shouted, "C! The answers are both C."

She nodded. "Thank you Carlos." She turned back to the board and began to write again.

I turned back to Carlos. "What the hell! These questions are bull! There not meant to help us become good, there a direct shot against us!" I whispered.

"You think we don't know that? Like you said, any idiot could answer these questions. They don't get it though. None of them understand what it's like to be a villain, so it's not exactly like they know how to teach one to be good. This class is required though, and if this is the price of staying out of that hell hole of an island, then I'll do it. It's not bad if you don't let it get to you." He responded.

"They still don't treat us as equals do they?" I asked.

He shrugged. "They still have a long way to go."

I was silent for a few moments. Suddenly Auradon wasn't sounding all that great. "Well it probably doesn't help that you steal things." I muttered.

The smirk returned to his face. "Ill give it back to you after I study it Kay? Look I'm taking good care of it." He said, pulling up the small chain from the inside of his shirt. I stared at him, wide eyed. He was wearing it. I was about to open my mouth and tell him to take it off when I thought better of it. The last thing I needed was him questioning me more, and plus maybe I can use this as an opportunity. I can test out the necklaces to see how they work. I simply nodded and turned my head back to the board. _Now how does this work_ , I wondered. I of course was wearing the red necklace. _Maybe I have to think about him_? I tried. All I could think of was that he was the idiot that was making my stay in Auradon a lot longer. _Maybe I have to think about reading his thoughts_. I shut my eyes and put my head on my hands to try and think. _Focus_ , I kept telling myself.

 _"I'm so glad this is the last class of the day."_

I almost flew out of my seat as I sprang up and whipped my head around to look at Carlos. "What?" He asked, surprised by my sudden movement.

"Did you say something?" I asked.

"No?" He responded, looking confused. I nodded my head and quickly looked away. The necklace actually worked. I could hear anything that he was thinking. Beyond that, once I had enough practice, I could use it to search through his memories. I glanced over at him. It wasn't his memories that I want to read though. It was Ben's.

 _"I wonder if I should take the necklace to the lab and actually try to study it."_ Carlos thought.

What else was he planning to do with it? I mean he did steal it to study it right?

 _"Why is she so obsessed with it?"_

Like I would tell him.

 _"She's so confusing."_

Ha. That ones a compliment.

 _"But also she's..."_ And with that the bell rang. I didn't catch the last of his sentence. Instead we both got up and headed for the door without saying a word. Before I reached the door though, I felt an arm thrown over my shoulder. I turned my head quickly to see Mal.

"So how was your second day? Are you getting used to things?" She asked.

I started to walk a little faster, making her arm slide off. "Yeah sure, it's great." I responded.

"Hey listen," she said before I could dart off, "I know this is tough, and it's a difficult change. This place is better though. It's great in fact. I don't know what it was like in Wasteland, but if it was anything like the isle than... " she trailed off.

"Mal it's fine. I just need to adjust." I said quickly, hoping her ramble about how great Auradon was would end.

She smiled. "Walk Back with us?" She asked as Jay, Evie, and Carlos walked up. I nodded and we all began to head in the directions of the dorm.

/

Those four together where obnoxious. They would yell, talk over each other, push each other, the list could go on. They where wild and laughed at everything. They didn't even care about the few occasional glares of annoyed students as they passed by. At one point I had tried to keep up with the conversation, but so many people where talking at once that I got lost. I eventually just decided to keep quiet, watching them jump around and make fools of themselves. I would occasionally even feel a small smile form in my lips. They acted as if they didn't have a care in the world. Truthfully they probably didn't. They where far away from there parents, and they had decided to live their lives peacefully in Auradon. For a fleeting moment I couldn't help but wonder if I had that choice too.

"Hey Crimson!" Jay suddenly shouted.

I looked up at him to see him looking at a poster that had been stapled to a tree. "You got a date for the Halloween dance?" He asked.

"A... what?" I stammered.

"A date. It's in two weeks. The dances are huge! They have a Halloween dance every year and it's wicked cool. Every one dresses up In a costume and they make this giant maze that's only open at night, and as you walk through people jump out and scare you!" He said, obviously excited.

"I haven't dressed up for Halloween since I was six." I answered. The last year of my childhood. "And I don't go on dates." I added

"Oh come on it'll be fun! Ben and Mal are even running the maze!" He said, right as Mal and the others ran up.

"Oh no, don't tell me. Really Jay? The new girl? Getting rejected as a date to the dance _fifteen times_ just isn't enough?" Mal said, annoyed. I couldn't help but snort out a laugh as Jay began to blush.

"Shut up!" He yelled. Every one laughed.

"Ever since Lonnie rejected you you've been looking for a date like crazy. Are you trying to make Lonnie jealous?" Evie asked mockingly.

"N-no!" Jay shouted, obviously embarrassed and very angry. Suddenly all three of them began to argue, and Carlos walked over to stand next to me, avoiding the fight.

"Excuse him. He flirts on anyone with a pulse." Carlos said in a low voice so Jay wouldn't hear him. Slightly offended, I automatically snapped my head up at him and his eyes widened.

"I didn't mean- that's not to say that your not- I didn't mean it like that." He said as if he was hoping I hadn't taken his comment the wrong way. I was about to open my mouth to respond when I was cut off.

"A pulse? How's that possible? I heard she was I heartless." I heard someone say loudly behind me. Suddenly the three stopped their arguing and looked up at who had spoke. I saw their eyes go wide and I could have sworn that I heard a "oh shit" come from Evie's mouth. Me and Carlos quickly turned around to face a tall, skinny girl with long and wavy blond hair. She wore a white skirt with a blue shirt and matching flats and a bow on her head. She was obviously trying really hard to have an angry facial expression. Let's just say it wasn't working.

"Who are you?" I asked.

"My names Alyssa, Daughter of Alice."


	5. Chapter 5

_Lately I've been afraid of myself_  
 _The closer that I get to rain_  
 _The more I feel at home, the further I'm away_  
 _And all that I feel is pain_

 _Count me, count me, call my name_  
 _Don't leave me out in shame_  
 _Crimson tears falling and my shirt is blood-stained_  
 _And the devil's forever in my veins_  
 _And the devil's forever in my veins_

 _Devil In My Veins - Yelawolf_

Alice? As in _the_ Alice? Huh. I hadn't really considered the possibility of running into her or her daughter. I mean I knew Alice lived in Auradon, and that she had had a daughter, but honestly what are the chances of her going to the same school as me?

I stared at Alissa a little longer. Carlos was still standing next to me with his eyes wide, and I knew the other three behind me probably looked the same. At the time I didn't understand why they seemed so unnerved by her presence. I on the other hand was trying to keep my facial expression Neutral.

"Oh really," I finally said. "I'm heartless huh?"

"Well at least that's what I'm told. It does make sense, with who your mother is and all." Alissa responded crudely.

I smiled. "Oh?"

She suddenly frowned. "Yes. Your mother could slaughter someone without a second thought. She couldn't care about anyone or anything if she tried. Which begs the question, _why are you here?_ I know your mother specifically asked for you to come to this school, but for some odd reason I highly doubt it was for your education."

Well that was blunt. I mean she wasn't wrong but still. "Are you accusing me of something?" I asked innocently.

"No. Not yet, anyway. I'm just saying that I don't believe you can be trusted. The Queen of Hearts only cares for herself. She even murdered her first husband to keep control of Wonderland. There's no way she could honestly care this much about you, let alone your education." Alissa said.

I could feel rage begin to bubble up inside me. How dare she? She didn't know me. I opened my mouth to say something, but before I could, Carlos spoke up. "Hey that's enough! What the hell Alissa, why are you saying all this crap?"

"Because she doesn't belong here! Do you even know who her mother is? Her mother beheaded hundreds, hell maybe even thousands of innocent people while she was in control of Wonderland. I know it didn't stop after she was banished to Wasteland either! The number of people that live in Wasteland has dropped dramatically since the Red Queen moved there! Do you really think that someone who grew up with a parent such as that would be normal? Would they even be sane?" She yelled.

Everyone suddenly grew dead silent. It was no secret that my mother was a murderer, but I guess no one had really thought about it. Or maybe they just didn't want to. Either way though, I couldn't stop myself from feeling a terrible mix of sadness and anger. I knew I couldn't blow it though. I had to keep my composure. I had to keep telling myself that she was just another clueless idiot, which she was. Briefly I caught a glimpse of Carlos's thoughts, which where racing with questions. I decided to ignore that and focus on Alissa. Suddenly I remembered something that I had once heard about Alice, and a small grin appeared on my face.

"Sanity? You want to talk about sanity? I mean honestly, if any of us should be questioning their sanity, it should probably be you, considering your father and all. I mean every one knows the _Mad Hatter_ is as insane as a person can get, even if he's not violent." I stated. Yes, Alice did somehow fall in love with the Mad Hatter, though I'm not sure how. All I ever heard was the short story of how they got together. After Alice had left wonderland, she decided to travel the world. During her travels though, she began to realize that something was missing. She claimed to have felt an indescribable emptiness in her heart, and couldn't figure out why she had it. It was only after she went back to Wonderland and found the Mad Hatter again did she understand. She had fallen in love and not even realized it. Not long after that king Beast made Auradon, and Alice and the Mad Hatter moved there. A few years later they got married, and then a few years after that they had their first child. A classic and happy love story. Gross.

Alissa's cheeks grew bright red at my comment, and out of the corner of my eye I could see Carlos take a step back. All I could hear from his thoughts was one simple word: _Magic_. It only took a few moments for me to figure out what he meant. Alissa glared at me, and began to clench her fists tightly. As she did I suddenly began to feel my throat to close. I couldn't breathe. I quickly brought my hand up to my throat and tried desperately to gasp for air. I quickly began to panic. Was she doing this? I thought magic was illegal? I can't use magic, how do I fight her? So many questions raced my mind, but at the same time I was struggling to fight for my life. As I fell to my knees I could hear Carlos, Mal, Jay, and Evie screaming at Alissa to stop. I could hear Mal chanting random spells from what must of been a spell book, and I could see the other three running towards Alissa, trying to get her to stop. Before they reached her though, Alissa un-clenched her fists, and I finally gasped for air. I could breathe again. Everyone stopped their shouting and quickly ran towards me, except for Alissa who stood her ground. The four tried pulling me to my feet, but the world around me seemed as if it was spinning, and I could hardly stand.

"Listen to me. You don't get to say things that you don't understand. Yes my father might not be the most stable man in the world, but hes still one of the most powerful. And guess who got his powers? I'm one of the most powerful magic users in Auradon, even if it is illegal. Watch yourself. You may have some idiots fooled, but not me. I know the heartless monster your mother is. Your just the same. And you don't stand a chance against me." Alissa said, before turning to march away.

I was angry and slightly embarrassed. The girl had taken me down with out even trying. I wasn't scared though. No, unfortunately for her she had managed to get on the wrong side of me with only a ten minute conversation. She had made me angry beyond words.

I finally stood up, refusing any of the help that was offered by the four villain kids. As I was dusting myself off I heard Evie speak up. "Are you ok?" She whispered.

I quietly looked over at her and then back at the other three concerned faces. I let out a small laugh. "Don't worry about me. By the time i'm done with her she's gunna wish she had killed me." I could see there eyes widen, but before any of them could speak I turned and left.

/

The next couple of days where pretty uneventful. Of course I was still scheming King Ben's demise, but nothing else really happened. Alissa hadn't bothered me since the day she had choked me out, and Carlos, Evie, Mal, and Jay hadn't tried talking about it since my little comment. That didn't really bother me any, considering I didn't want to talk about it. Carlos continued to annoy me and keep my necklace, and I continued to read his thoughts. I have to say, he's pretty smart. So far I've gathered that he enjoys science, especially robotics, and absolutely loves school, though I really couldn't understand why. My hateful feelings towards school had yet to change. Carlos also had a pet dog named Dude, who used to be the schools dog. After Carlos moved to Auradon he apparently had an irrational fear of dogs, which was quickly fixed when he met Dude. Soon Carlos took in Dude as his own and nobody really questioned it. Now the dog went with him everywhere outside of school.

I was pretty relieved that the last class of the school week was about to end, and that I would have a full two days off to do whatever I wanted. As the last bell finally rang, I jumped up from my desk and quickly left the classroom. God I was so tired of school, and I had only been in it for a week.

I was quickly walking through a large crowd of students, when suddenly I heard someone shout my name. "Crimson!" Oh no. I knew that voice. Sighing I stopped walking and turned around to see Carlos shoving his way through the crowd towards me. I could here a few grumbles of angry teenagers as he shoved his way through.

"What Carlos?" I asked when he finally reached me. I could see his dog Dude was being loosely carried with one arm, and was happily wagging his tail. Carlos smiled and held up the white charm that was hooked around his neck.

"I finally got around to studying the necklace." He said.

"And what did you find?" I asked nervously.

Before he could respond someone shoved both me and Carlos as he passed, obviously annoyed that we were were blocking a part of the hallway. "Wanna go outside first?" Carlos asked. I nodded, and we both began to walk with the crowd towards the exit. When we finally made it outside we began to walk towards the field, and Carlos set his dog down who quickly fell into step next to him. As we were walking we began to talk again.

"So?" I asked.

"Well it's nothing like I've ever seen before. It's definitely magic, I recognize that. What type of magic though, I have no idea."

Huh. A part of me felt a little relieved. "Ok, and?"

"And... That's it. That all I know. Really I'm pretty sure your the only one that can tell me what type of magic it is." He said.

"True... But I'm not going to." I responded. We had made it to the bleachers, and both sat down on the bottom seat.

"Why not?" He asked while leaning back against the bleachers behind him.

"Because it's not yours, and you don't need to know." I responded, looking back at him. He frowned, but didn't say anything else. We sat in silence for a few more moments before he spoke again. "You know, I really wish you wouldn't start something with Alissa. She wasn't kidding about being really powerful with magic."

"Ugh what's with you butting into all my personal stuff? And besides, I didn't start anything, she did." I said.

"Yeah but that doesn't mean you need to finish it. You don't have to go after her. And the only reason I'm bothering you about it is because I think someone will get hurt if you two get into a fight." He said, sounding slightly worried.

"Oh? And is that why you stole my necklace? Because you where worried I was going to hurt someone?" I snapped.

"What? No, I just... I was..." He couldn't seem to finish his sentence out loud, but that didn't stop him from saying it in his head.

 _Because I'm curious about you._

I froze. It took me everything I had not to ask him what he meant. Why's he curious? Did I do something to make myself seem different than any one else? Actually I take that one back, the only people I could really relate to were the villain kids, and even then I had a hard time. But still, what did he mean? As I stared at him he averted his gaze away from mine and began to turn red. In his thoughts I could still hear him trying to find a good answer to say out loud.

Thankfully, before things could get any more awkward, a girl in brown pig tales skipped up to us and handed us both a flyer. "Come to the Halloween dance! The maze is gunna great this year!" She said excitedly before skipping off to some other kids sitting in the field. I looked down at the poster to see a large pumpkin with the words "Halloween Dance" in bright letters above it. Below the pumpkin was "You must go through the maze to get to the dance! Enter if you dare!" I couldn't help but wonder how cheesy that dance was going to be.

"Are you going?" Carlos asked, obviously relieved to be able to avoid answering the question I asked him earlier.

"I don't know. Seems kinda lame." I responded.

He shrugged. "I think last years was pretty fun. I mean the maze was a little cheesy, but other than that it was pretty cool. Plus since Mal has something to do with it this year it should be pretty scary. She told me that it's gunna be really dark with a lot of sound affects."

I snorted. I was about to make a snarky comment about how lame that sounded, when a thought came to my head. "Hey... Isn't Ben working the maze?" I asked.

"Yeah? I think he's gunna be one of the monsters that jumps out and scares people that pass." Carlos responded. I nodded and turned away. This is it. I don't even need the necklaces for this. It's the perfect time to kill Ben. No body would suspect it, since everyone's in costume, I can hide my identity, and it's in a dark maze so nobody would see me anyway. Maybe while I was at it I could take out Alissa too. It was too perfect. I couldn't help but smile at myself, as I had finally conjured up a solid plan to finish the job I had been sent here for.

Suddenly I heard a loud bark next to me and I turned my head just in time to see an excited little brown dog jump on Carlos and attack him with licks. Carlos dramatically fell over and started laughing as the dog wagged his tail wildly and continued to licking him all over. I felt my stomach twist. I couldn't help but notice the amount of _freedom_ that Carlos had. He was able to laugh when he wanted, and never had to worry about his parents. He would never be forced to do anything evil. It was just him and his happy little dog. Could I ever feel that way? Could I ever forget the monster that my mother turned me into, and actually be free? As these conflicting emotions churned inside of me, I couldn't stop my eyes from clouding over. I quickly looked away from Carlos and tried to compose myself. I was not going to start crying.

"You ok?" I heard Carlos ask. I turned back to see him sitting up and looking at me. He was holding on tightly to the dog on his lap, who was desperately trying to squirm away.

"Ya know, I think I'm gunna go to that dance." I said.


	6. Chapter 6

_All of my life I built this armor_

 _And every disguise I ever wore,_

 _Ashes and dust,_

 _I made and island,_

 _Facing the end,_

 _I said "what for?"_

 _Sometimes it's a battle_

 _At times it's a war,_

 _But your never defenseless_

 _Sometimes we all lose strength_

 _Please don't lose your faith_

 _After our time has passed,_

 _We're like light through stained glass_

 _We go on and on and on_

 _In the end were never gone..._

 _Madness - Sleeping with Sirens_

"Pleeeaase?" Evie asked desperately. I looked over at her and glared. At that moment she was standing in the doorway of my bedroom, her eyes wide and pleading. I was honestly beginning to believe she might cry if I didn't give her what she wanted.

"Evie..." I said sighing.

She lightly stomped her foot. "Come on, open up a little! You can trust me I promise! Just let me make you a costume for the dance!" Apparently after I told Carlos I was going to the dance, he had went and told everyone else. Great.

"I don't know Evie. Why do you want to make my costume that badly? I mean I wasn't really planning on going as anything major."

"That's exactly why you need me! I can make you a great costume! And... Every one else already has their costumes so your the only one I have left. Pretty please?" I could tell by the look in her eyes that she wasn't going away until she got the answer she wanted. She was kind of messing with my plans though.

I looked away from her, slightly annoyed. "Fine," I stated. "But I have conditions."

Evie began to jump up and down excitedly. "Yes! Ok what are they?" She asked.

"Nothing pink, and nothing princessy. And I need to be able to easily move in it."

"Deal! Ooh I'm so excited! I have to take your measurements and then I'll leave." She said finally stepping into the room. I rolled my eyes and let Evie in, shutting the door behind her. I had already been slightly irritated before Evie came in, given the fact that it was Sunday night. My weekend was coming to an end. I had slept all day Saturday, and literally did nothing on Sunday except read and lounge. I don't think I had ever had so much free time in my life.

"Arms up!" Evie said as she pulled a small measuring tape out of her pocket. I lifted my arms and she began to take my measurements. I guess it was a good thing that she was making my costume, since I had no idea what I was going to be. I began to silently wonder what she was going to make my costume as.

"Hey," Evie said, "So what made you change your mind? About going to the dance I mean."

I shrugged. "I don't know. You all made it sound pretty fun, and the maze sounds like it will be... Interesting." It wasn't a complete lie.

"That's true. I'm glad your finally opening up a bit!" She said, and finally stood up and stopped measuring me. "Ok all done! I'll have it done before the dance next Saturday."

"Alright." I said. We stood there awkwardly for a few more moments, neither of us really knowing what to say. I think me and Evie were those types of people that wanted to get along, but never really had enough in common to keep a conversation going. Things always became awkwardly silent when we were talking.

"Alright, well I will see you tomorrow then..." I said, hoping I didn't sound rude.

"Oh yeah, ok." Evie said, and turned leave. Before she left though she turned back and faced me. "You know you should hang out with us more often. Maybe we could get to know each other better?" She said shyly.

"Yeah we should..." I said hesitantly. Why was she being so nice?

"Sweet! I'll see you later!" She said as she walked out the door.

"Bye..." I said after.

I wonder if she'll still want to hang out with me after next Saturday.

/

The breakfast they served the next morning didn't even look that appealing. I mean sure it tasted great and was as good as any other breakfast I had been served in Auradon, but I was just too tired to enjoy it. Eventually I think the others began to notice me blankly staring at my food, and I was roughly pushed by Jay. I snapped back up and glared at him.

"Dude why are you so tired? It's only your second week." Jay asked. My only response was a loud grunt.

"Come on you need to eat, it will wake you up." Mal pitched in. I simply began staring at my food again. Maybe I should eat. Honestly I think I was more disappointed that my weekend was over than tired. I reluctantly picked up my fork and began to shove some food in my mouth, and a satisfied Mal and Jay smiled and went back to there eating. Carlos and Evie opted to skip breakfast that morning, since they had procrastinated on a History project they had together. I had laughed when they first told me about it, considering the overly nervous looks on their faces. Apparently they both loved school with a passion, and would never dream of getting bad grades. That only made me laugh harder. I did feel kind of bad now though, since they where missing breakfast just for the project.

As I was drifting away into my thoughts, Mal and Jay began to talk. "So hows the maze coming?" Jay asked.

"Great!" Mal said. "We're almost done with the plans. Do you have a date yet?"

"Psh. No. I don't need a date." Jay said confidently.

Mal snorted. "Really? Because that's not what you where saying two days ago."

"Well it is now! Honestly we didn't even dates before we came here. Don't you remember? Dating on the isle was considered freakish. People just didn't do it. So no I don't technically _need_ a date. I'll be fine without one." Jay blurted out. I could tell just by looking at him that he was flustered, though I knew he would never admit it. I silently wondered what was making him so mad. Before either me or Mal could say anything else though, he got up and left. Me and Mal turned and looked at each other.

"I should probably go talk to him..." Mal trailed off.

"Yeah you should." I agreed. And with that me and Mal said our goodbyes and I was left alone at the table. I honestly didn't think anything of it. I had been alone before, so it wasn't going to be that big of a deal to me now. I finished eating pretty quickly, and then groggily stood up to put the tray away. The cafeteria was pretty empty, so I assumed it was relatively close to class time. As I turned around to head to the trash can though, I came face to face with a tall and preppy blonde girl.

"Well what's this? Did all your friends realize what you are and leave?" She asked.

I contemplated answering her for a minute. I really wasn't awake enough for any real sort of argument. "Alissa, they had school stuff. What do you want?" I said.

She laughed. "Sure they did. And I just came to tell you that my parents are making an appeal to give to the king to force you to leave Auradon."

"What? They can't do that." I replied.

"Oh yes they can. Once we make people realize what you are, once we-"

"Shut up, I get it, you don't like me, you want me to leave. I'm not going anywhere. Honestly, the same thing happened with the other villain kids, and their still here." I stated plainly.

"There are a lot of people that want you gone, and they all have good reasons. Your mother probably trained you to be a killer. Your mother probably gave you promises of riches and gold just to keep you on her side. She probably promised you a throne next to hers to convince you to listen to her. She probably spoiled you to no end, and you fell for it. But guess what? No plan you could ever conjure up would ever work. You'll never-"

I don't think I have ever hit someone with so much force before. All of my anger, everything, put into one punch. Needless to say she was knocked completely over and was now on the floor. Suddenly it seemed as if all of my sleepiness was gone, and was replaced with a certain type of energy that can only be born from rage. Alissa lifted her hand up to her face. I could see a small amount of blood dripping from a cut right above her eye. No doubt she would bruise. I crouched down and grabbed her by the shirt, yanking her forward so her face was right below mine. I have to admit, I somewhat enjoyed the look of surprise and fear on her face.

"I don't get to talk about things I don't understand, and now neither do you. Actually, you don't get to talk about me at all. Riches and gold? I was spoiled? Get out of your fantasy life. I was raised by a damn villain not some hero from wonderland. What, you thought everyone in this world grew up in perfect and privileged lives? Open your eyes and face the facts. The real facts. We were outcasts, forced to live in darkness. And your right, I was raised by the Red Queen, but why don't you process that for a minute? I was raised by a murderer. I was raised by someone who didn't care at all for the lives of thousands, including her first husband. How the fuck do you think that someone like that would actually love their daughter enough to spoil her?" I screamed. Alissa's eyes where wide with fear by the time I finished talking. After realizing all that I had said, my eyes went wide too. I quickly let go of her shirt and stood up. Alissa stayed where she was, unmoving, as if she wasn't exactly sure what had just happened. I wasn't too sure either. I felt an overwhelming amount of emotions right then, and wasn't sure why. I wanted to cry. I want to scream, but it wasn't because of Alissa. Before anything else could happen, I turned and ran out of the Cafeteria.

/

I showed up to robotics late, which Maurice wasn't happy about. Instead of getting angry though, he let it slide as I quickly and quietly made it to my seat. Everyone in the classroom seemed to be building some sort of contraption on their desks. I wasn't that interested in whatever it was.

"We're supposed to be building a clock together." Carlos stated from his seat next to me. I looked over at the metal scraps he had on the desk, and then at the thing he was building.

"It looks like you got it." I retorted. He glared.

"You can at least help me with the rest of it. I had a long morning" he said. _So did I_ , I thought. I knew I should help him, but I didn't really want to. I didn't really want to do anything at that moment except for curl into a ball and hide from the world. I sighed and buried my face in my hands. "Alright." I mumbled between my hands. I looked up at the pieces spread out across the table, and was automatically confused. They just looked like junk. I could feel Carlos staring at me, waiting for me to start working.

"Carlos I don't know how to do this." I snapped. He sighed and began to work on it again. "Just hand me my tools ok?" He said. I silently nodded as I watched him tamper with different pieces of metal. We were both silent for a very long time except for the occasional times where he'd ask me for a tool. I could see Carlos glancing up at me questioningly every once in a while until finally he started to talk. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." I responded, a little harsher than I meant to.

With out hesitating he responded, "Your crankier than usual."

I looked over at him. "I am not cranky all the time."

He smirked. "Maybe not all the time, but a lot of the time. Your especially cranky today." He said, setting the clock down and looking up at me. "Actually I wouldn't call it cranky right now, but you are upset." I turned my head away from him, not sure if I wanted to respond. He could read me surprisingly well.

"I talked to Alissa again." I said.

"And?" He asked, with no expression change.

"I punched her." I responded.

He stared at me wide eyed for a few moments before responding. "What the hell? She's gonna kill you!" I gave a small laugh and shook my head. She couldn't kill me. She doesn't have it in her.

"She was talking about my life in Wasteland like she knew what she was talking about. She tried to make it sound like I was treated like an actual princess, like I wasn't raised by-"

"A villain." Carlos finished for me. I looked up at him to see his eyes full of understanding. It kind of freaked me out; no one had ever looked at me like that before.

As if sensing my discomfort Carlos looked back at his clock. "Like I've said before, they don't get it. They've lived such cushioned lives that they don't understand how anyone else's lives could be so hard. They dont understand how someones parents could possibly not love their child." Carlos said, refusing to look up at me. He looked sad, maybe even a little frustrated. I didn't know what to say to him, but it made me wonder about his past. It made me wonder how someone who was constantly able to laugh and smile could possibly have a hard past. It would make sense though, considering he was raised by a nasty villain as well. I guess I had never really considered that the other villain kids had lived the same nasty life I had. A little self centered wasn't it?

"Carlos-" I started, only to be cut off by a loud and booming Maurice, who I think was talking about the pieces that make the clock tick. I was going to wait for Maurice to finish his lecture before I started to talk to Carlos again, but before Maurice even finished speaking, the bell rang, signaling that class was over. I couldn't even get a word out of my mouth as Carlos immediately sprang up and bolted out the door. I wanted to call after him, but it was too late. He was gone.

/

I didn't see Carlos at all for the rest of the day. I ended up looking for him in between every single class time and even after school. I never found him. He even skipped all of his classes. Evie was pissed when he skipped history, when their project was was due. She had to turn it in by herself. I eventually gave up looking for him, figuring he probably didn't want to be found at that point. Whatever.

It was late, and I was trying to fall asleep, but I couldn't. My mind kept racing with questions and mixed emotions from the day. Why was Alissa trying to get rid of me? And what made Carlos so upset? What happened to him before? It's not that I was worried about him. I think. I was just... curious. That look of sadness on his face... I guess at this point I was just used to him smiling all the time. I had only known him for a little over a week though.

I shook my head. Why was I worrying so much about it? I had more important things to keep on my mind. Like this Saturday's dance.

I sighed. I didn't want to think about that either. There was too much riding on that one night. If I screwed up... I was going to stress myself out if I kept thinking about it. No, I didn't want to think about anything at that moment. Instead I just stared out the window of my room, looking at the bright city lights under the dark night sky, until finally, I fell asleep.

/

 _The room was dark, and undeniably cold. I looked around the room trying to get some idea of where I was and how I got there. Off in the far corner of the room I noticed a small candle flickering, and next to it, a small boy in clothes that looked dirty and worn. He couldn't be any older than ten. He was wearing a small hoodie with the hood up over his head. He had his back turned to me, but I could tell that he was working on something._

 _"Hey kid! Where are we?" I called out. He didn't react at all. Confused and slightly unnerved, I slowly began to walk towards him until I was close enough to look over his shoulder and see what he was working on. He had a brush in his hand, and on the table was a black and white fur coat. He was very slowly, and very carefully brushing the fur._

 _"What are you doing?" I asked. Again, no response. I took another step forward, only to trip over something on the floor. I managed to steady myself, and looked back to see that I had tripped on another fur coat. As I looked back at the dark end of the room, my eyes began to adjust, and I gasped. The room was lined with piles upon piles of fur. Every single fur neatly stacked one on top of the other. There had to be hundreds of different types of fur in there. I looked back at the kid, who was still working on the coat. Had he done all of this? Had he combed and organized every single one of these furs? Or did he just collect them?_

 _Suddenly a woman burst through the door, and started walking towards us. She had thick and curly black and white hair. She had a dark skin tone, and wore a very large fur coat. I held my breath as she drew nearer, unsure of what she was going to do. She walked right past me though, as if I wasn't even there, and went straight towards the boy. He turned his head slightly to look at the woman._

 _"What's taking you so long?" The woman asked._

 _"I- I'm almost done." The kid stammered. The woman looked over at the coat._

 _"Almost done? This doesn't even look halfway done! These need to be perfect! Do all of the others you brushed look like this?" She started to yell._

 _"N-no." The kid said. He sounded like he was about to cry._

 _The woman glared down at him, and for a moment I was convinced that she was going to hit him. Instead she whipped around and began to walk out of the room. "Do them all again." She said without stopping._

 _The kid quickly turned around and I gasped. I could recognize that head of white hair anywhere. "But mom! It's so cold in here!" He called after her. Suddenly the women stopped, and the young boy held his breath._

 _"I don't care," she said without turning around. "You going to work until these furs are perfect, do you understand?"_

 _Tears began to fall down his face. "But mom-" she whipped around and he immediately stopped talking. He tried to hold his breath and stop crying, but he wasn't able to. Except for his crying, the room was deathly silent._

 _"Are you arguing with me?" She asked slowly. He quickly shook his head no, his eyes wide with fear. "I didn't think so," the woman went on. "We know what happens when little boys don't behave, don't we Carlos?" From where I was standing I could see that the young Carlos had started shaking, but whether it was out of fear or the cold, I couldn't tell._

 _"Yes mom." He replied. The woman who I now guessed was Cruella DeVil simply nodded her head and turned to walk away. When she finally left the room she slammed the door shut, and Carlos was left alone shaking and crying in the dark, cold room._

/

I woke with a start. I immediately sat up and looked wildly around the room, as if I was half expecting myself to still be in that dark room. I wasn't. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, trying to calm my self down. That dream was a memory. It had to have been. It felt the same way my memories felt whenever I dreamt them, and it would explain why no one could hear or see me in the dream. It hadn't been my memory though. It was Carlos's. I felt the sudden urge to cry. He had been so upset today, and now I knew why, though I had a feeling I hadn't even seen half of it. I knew that there was a lot more to his story than that one memory had given.

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 **Authors Note:**

 **Yo! So this is obviously my first story, but i'm having a lot of fun with it! I want to thank the people that are following and have Favorited, and those that have commented. I love commendations and Recommendations, so please comment! I'm going to try and update this story at least once every week. Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

_Wait, no one said whats lost cannot be found_

 _You are here to make it safe and sound,_

 _Oh we can make it out alive,_

 _Fate hath its way when all that's learned is sin,_

 _nothing really matters in the end,_

 _As long as you are with me friend,_

 _Oh, dig my shallow grave,_

 _'Cause its not me you'll save._

 _'Cause I'm a lost cause,_

 _I'm a lost cause,_

 _A lost, lost cause_

 _Lost Cause - Imagine Dragons_

I didn't get to see Carlos for a couple days after I saw his memory. He didn't show up to any of his classes, so the only time I saw him was when he was darting too and from the cafeteria. The others of course where extremely worried. They were trying to figure out if he was stressed, or maybe just upset about getting a "C" on that project he did with Evie. They couldn't figure it out. But neither could I. For Carlos to just suddenly become upset and start avoiding people was so out of character for him. Plus that memory of his left my mind racing with questions. It's not like I could ask him about the memory though.

I was confused and I will admit, slightly worried about Carlos never showing up, but that's only because he left me alone to finish building a clock in robotics. But then the craziest thing happened. On Thursday in robotics, he just showed up. Then he proceeded to act like nothing happened. He acted as if he hadn't been gone for days. He even made a joke on how I butchered the clock he had been building (it was true though, that clock was in a sad state). When I tried to ask him why he had been gone he told me he was just thinking and needed a few days. Then he changed the subject. Apparently he had done the same to the others, because now I was hearing an earful from a very angry Evie who had somehow managed to drag me in her room to do the final touches on my costume.

"Can you believe him? He just locks himself away, without any warning or explanation, and then acts like- like nothing happened!" Evie angrily said through two needles she had in her mouth. She had me in some sort of dress, though I wasn't sure what my costume was supposed to be.

"Maybe he was depressed. He told me he needed time to think."

"Depressed about what? Carlos is the cheeriest person in the world." Mal said. She was sprawled out on her bed, lazily scrolling through her phone. At least she didn't seem stressed out over Carlos.

Evie whined. "I don't know what to do." She said. I shrugged. I honestly didn't know what to do either. Up till that point I had never had to deal with caring about someone else's emotions. Except for my mothers of course, and that was just me trying to keep her from getting angry.

Mal sighed and rolled over to look at Evie. "Maybe there's nothing we can do right now. He's still coming to the dance right?" Mal asked. Evie nodded. "Well then let's just focus on making sure he has a good time. If he is upset then we should just focus on making him happy. He'll tell us what's wrong eventually."

With that Evie nodded and got back to working on the costume. Just the slight mention of the dance made me nervous. I guess in two days when the dance happens Carlos's emotions and memory aren't really going to matter. This costume won't matter. None of it will. In two days... My mothers plans will finally go through.

/

I don't ever remember a time when I was nervous to the point of vomiting. I know, not a pretty picture, but it's what happening. It was already Saturday, and the dance was in an hour. _Everything_ rode on what happened that night. If I screwed up anything... I shook my head. I was pacing back and forth across my room, trying to settle my upset stomach. I couldn't keep thinking like that. I was going to make myself sick again. I couldn't be like this when it was actually time to kill him. I had to be stable. Just like before. Just like all of the other times.

I stopped my pacing and took in a deep breath. _I'll be fine_ , I thought to myself. _This won't be any different then before._ I turned and looked at the costume that was hanging on my door. Evie had brought it up that morning. I was impressed, to say the least. She had come up with a pretty decent costume. The bottom half of the dress was fluffy and stopped a little above my knees. The top was a tight corset with lace running across the stomach. There where short red lace gloves that didn't cover my fingers. The whole dress was black and to top it off, there was a headband with little red cat ears on them. Yes, I was a cat, but hey, at least my costume would be hard to see in the darkness of the maze.

I was able to distract myself from my nervousness by getting ready. After putting on the costume I put on black eyeliner, black eye shadow, bright red lipstick, and my black boots. When I was finished I walked to my full length mirror and gave myself one last look. I was ready. I started to focus on steadying my breathing as the nervous feeling began to twist in my stomach again. Everything was set. I had decided to leave my ax in my room, and would retrieve it later when it was time. Everything had been thought out, yet I couldn't shake that feeling of nervousness, that feeling of dread. It was an awful feeling, and the fact that I was feeling it was making me frustrated.

Suddenly I heard a knock on the door. I jumped slightly a at the sound, and almost slapped myself for doing so. I needed to calm down. Relax. I sighed and opened the door, to find a very excited looking Carlos. He was jumping up and down on the balls of his feet in what looked to be - a Dalmatian costume? It was kind of hard to tell. He wearing an all black pair of pants and shirt, but over that was a black and white spotted vest. He had on black boots and a pair of black and white floppy ears on his head. I couldn't help myself but let out a small laugh.

"Carlos- are you a Dalmatian?" I asked.

"Psh, so what? Your a cat." He said, a grin appearing on his face. "Look Evie even dressed up Dude!" He said excitedly, just as Dude ran up, with tiny bat wings on him. I let out a small laugh again, and turned back to Carlos who I found was still looking at me. He quickly averted his gaze when I looked at him, and I swear I could see his cheeks turn slightly red.

"So um, anyway, Jay and Evie asked me to come get you so we can all walk to the maze together. Mal's already at the maze." He said. I took in a big breath. This was it. It was time.

"Alright let me grab my key and we'll go." I said. When we left my dorm we began to walk down the hall towards Evie's room in silence. I was too busy thinking my plan over to notice the silence or care, but Carlos must have noticed, because he was the first one to break it.

"You look great by the way. Your costume I mean." He said. I snapped my head around to look at him and my mind went blank. What just happened? Did he just compliment me? I wasn't even sure how to respond to that. I could feel heat beginning to rise to my face and I quickly looked away.

"Um- thanks. Evie made it." I managed to say. Out of the corner of my eye I could see him smirking, as if he knew he had made me flustered. I started to walk faster. The last thing I needed was Carlos getting on my nerves while I was already anxious. I didn't bother talking again until we reached Evei's room, and then, the dance.

/

Even standing outside the maze, I had to admit that it looked pretty cool. They had made the maze out of tall black curtains. There where a bunch of signs saying "enter if you dare", and there was fog slowly rolling out of the entrance that seemed to be dimly lit by a black light. There was a faint laughter coming from inside the maze. All around the entrance I could see wide eyed Auradon students trying to convince themselves and their friends to go inside. Every once in a while a group would get brave and go in, but it wouldn't be long before we heard their screams. Mal really outdid herself.

"Damn, this looks sick. We have to go in." Jay said excitedly. He had dressed up as... Well I honestly don't know what he was supposed to be. All he wore was a black leather jacket, ripped black jeans and a t shirt, while Evie had dressed up as a cute witch. She and Carlos looked almost as excited as Jay did.

"Alright let's do this thing." I said. Of course I was going in too. I had to scope out the maze and find out where Ben was. As we started to walk towards the entrance I could see a few of the other kids staring at us as if we where crazy. I couldn't help but smile as I heard a few of their whispers.

"Does this even faze them?"

"Why do they look excited to enter the maze?"

"What is Jay dressed up as?"

"Their freaks. Of course this doesn't affect them."

I turned my head at the last comment, to immediately lock eyes with Alissa. Of course it was her. I hadn't seen her since I had punched her in the Cafeteria. She was dressed up as an angel, with the Halo and all. Upon closer look though, I could see the faint outline of a fading bruise covered in heavy makeup around her eye. I gave her a sly grin as I passed, before finally turning and entering the maze.

It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the darkness of the maze, but even when they did, it was still hard to see. The only light that was offered was an occasional black light. From those lights though you could see people in nasty costumes, some covered in fake blood, others made too look like demons or ghosts. It was pretty exciting. As soon as we entered though I could feel Carlos tense up next to me. I looked up at him. "You scared?" I teased.

"No, I just don't like the dark." He said without looking at me. I could see on his face that there was a story behind that, but I didn't try to pry him for answers. Instead we both moved forward into the maze. There where a few twists a turns, but not too many. Under every black light there was a fake bloody mess, and occasionally someone would jump out of the dark and try to scare us. Of course none of us screamed, or even jumped, but that didn't mean Carlos wasn't still on edge. I wanted to ask him questions, but I knew I had to stay focused. I still hadn't found Ben, and I was pretty sure that we were close to the end. Maybe I had passed him already. It was hard to see who the people where sometimes. Just as I was staring to feel the slightest bit of panic, a figure In a dark cloak walked out from the curtain and blocked our path. They began to speak in a dramatically deep voice. "You have survived to the end of the maze. You may now enter the dance hall."

I could tell by the looks on the others faces that they where trying really hard not to laugh. Evie spoke up first. "Ben? Is that you?"

The figure hesitated for a second, before slowly lifting off his hood. "Was I that bad?" Ben asked.

"No no you were... Great." Evie said somewhat reassuringly. Ben didn't look convinced.

"I know I'm not good, but I was the only one that would take this job."

"Nah," Jay said. "Just work on your deep voice. You'll get it."

Ben nodded before pulling his hood back on. "Well I'll see you guys later. There's more people coming." He said motioning behind us and quickly running behind his curtain. As we walked past I tried to Sneak a peak behind a small crack in the curtain. From what I could see it was a small dark room, but not much else. That would have to do. That's where it would happen.

/

There where a lot more people in the dance hall than I expected. I had thought majority of them where outside. The room was at least more lit than the maze was though. There was some loud techno music playing from the speakers, and a large group of people that where dancing in the center of the hall. Jay and Evie immediately broke off and ran straight towards the dance floor. I stood my ground. There was no way I was dancing.

"You wanna go dance?" Carlos asked from beside me.

"No. I don't know how to dance." I replied.

"It's easy you just move to the beat." He said.

"No...I think I'm gonna get something to drink." I replied uneasily.

"Well let me come with you." I looked up at him. Why was he being clingy? I opened my mouth to tell him that I would be fine on my own, when Jay ran out from the crowd of people and straight to Carlos.

"Dude what are you doing? You freaken love dancing! Come on!" Jay said before grabbing his arm and dragging him to the floor.

"Hey- wait!" Carlos yelled while being pulled away.

 _Thank God_ , I thought.

My stomach began to twist again as I turned towards the door to leave. There where a couple "guards" at the door, making sure nobody went in the dance hall that way, and would instead be forced to go through the maze. I was fine with that, I wouldn't be coming back in. As I stepped back outside, I took a large breath of the night air, trying to calm my nerves. It was particularly dark night because it was a new moon, so it was easy to blend into the shadows. Convenient. I quickly and easily made it back to my dorm, since everyone was either at the dance or in the front of the maze. Getting back to the dance would be pretty easy too. When I made it to my door I fumbled around until I had the key in the door. I stopped as I looked over and noticed the name plate that was next to my door.

"Crimson Hearts"

They had given me a name plate. I was officially apart of this dorm. I shook my head. It wasn't going to be that way for much longer. I entered the room and went straight to my closet where the ax was hidden. My heart was racing and my breath quickening. This was it. I reached my had up to the shelves, feeling around until- my heart dropped. I began to frantically reach around some more, my stomach twisting in fear. The ax was gone. I climbed the shelves, trying desperately to see if it was up there and I was somehow missing it. I wasn't. I jumped back down, squeezing my eyes shut and clenching my fists.

 _Ok, don't panic. Somebody took the ax, but that doesn't mean anything, it will be easy to get back. But who? Who could have possibly gotten into my room and taken the one and only thing I had hidden? Alissa?_

Suddenly I heard slow foot steps behind me. Somebody was in my room. Had I closed the door? I slowly opened my eyes and turned. My breath caught in my throught. Standing in the doorway of my closet was someone I hadn't expected.

"Carlos...?" I asked hesitantly.

He didn't say anything. Instead he just stood staring, as if he was debating what he wanted to do with me. For a brief moment I wondered if I was going to have to fight my way out of the situation.

"Do you really want to do this?" He asked finally. "Do you really want to kill Ben?"

I could feel my breath begin to falter again. "How... I don't know what your talking about." I said.

Carlos smiled a sad smile. "Yes you do." He reached up to his neck and pulled at a small necklace that had been hidden under his shirt. It was the white gem.

My eyes went wide. Everything made sense. I had made a major mistake in leaving that necklace with him, and now had to deal with the consequences. "You know how the necklace works." I stated.

He nodded, but before I was able to say anything else, he started to talk again. "I-I've known what it is for a while. When I first studied it in the science lab I quickly realized it was magic. After that it wasn't that hard to look it up on the Internet. I found an old legend about two necklaces that got lost in Wonderland, I figured that these had to be it. After that I debated giving it back to you but I got curious... I wanted to know why you had them... And about you I guess. I didn't figure out how they worked until I received a memory from you. It happened while I was sleeping one night. Then..." He kept talking. I quit listening. I was too busy trying to decide if I should panic or not. More than that, he had seen my memory, and I knew which one it was. It was my seventh birthday memory. I had dreamt it, and so had he.

"Carlos." I said, interrupting his rambling. "What exactly do you want?"

He stared at me wide eyed. "I wanted to know why... And hopefully talk you out of it."

"That's none of your business and it's my decision." I snapped

"Isn't it my business though? It's not like you haven't been reading my mind for the past two weeks either. Plus- I don't believe you really want to do it." He said.

"What? You barely know me! You don't understand why I have to do this. Tell me where my ax is!"

"Look I might not understand why you think you have to do this but I do understand what it's like to come from a villains world. You saw my memory- I dreamt it too."

"Your memory... Is that why you where gone for most of the week?" I asked.

Carlos hesitated. "I don't handle the past very well."

I opened my mouth to respond, but I wasn't sure what to say. In truth I felt kind of sorry for him. I knew what he meant about not handling the past well. I still couldn't understand what he wanted from me though. _Why_ did I want to kill the king? I don't know, it was what I was supposed to do wasn't it? I was supposed to do what my mom wanted right? I'm a hopeless cause. There was no "talking me down".

"Your mom... She asked you to do it?" Carlos said hesitantly. Suddenly my face turned bright red and I began to blush furiously.

"Stop reading my thoughts!" I screamed, before finally taking a step forward. I was tired of being trapped in that closet, but Carlos refused to move from his spot in the doorway.

"I'm not letting you go through with this." He stated boldly. My temper began to rise.

"It's none of your business." I said back.

"It's all of my business! If you go through with this it will have major consequences on Auradon, not to mention how morally wrong it is. Your talking about ending someone's life here."

"I know what I'm doing." I stated plainly.

"Do you?" He asked. Didn't I? I didn't bother responding him.

"Come on I know you'd be lying if you told me that you haven't enjoyed yourself in Auradon for the past two weeks. I was like you too when I first got here! We had a plan and everything...but then we realized how much better it was here. This freedom that we have here, this happiness, we never had that back on the island, and from what I understand Wasteland is no better. You don't have to be a villain. Let me help you." He said holding out his hand for me. I looked at it confused.

 _Help me with what? What's done is done, I can't change who I am._

"Yes you can _."_ He said.

I shook my head. My eyes where starting to cloud over. "There's no helping me. Go away Carlos. Don't get yourself involved with this."

 _I'm not leaving_ , I heard him think.

"Let me stay." He said aloud. "We can talk about this. We don't have to go back to that party or anything... Let's just..." He was desperate to make me stay. He knew a terrible secret about what I was trying to do, and he was trying so hard to prevent it. If I went through with this right now it would destroy everything. There would be no more living peacefully in Auradon, no more freedom. He would probably have to go back to his painful life of living with Cruella. But even though he was in the middle of trying to stop me from killing his King, he was still _worried_ about me, and that's what I couldn't understand. Why did he care? Was it because I was a villain like he was? All I wanted was to get the job over with. To be done with Auradon, be done with my mother, and yet this odd guy dressed in a Dalmatian costume stood in my way. I didn't get it.

Carlos was still staring at me, his expression nervous. Maybe I could wait a little longer to finish the job. I wanted to understand him. I wanted to know what he meant about having a choice between villain and not. I wanted to know why even now, he wanted to help me instead of turn me in.

"Ok," I said. "I'll stay here with you."

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 **Sorry about the late chapter! Comments are Appreciated!**


	8. Chapter 8

_So your feeling tied up to a sense of control,_

 _and make decisions that you think are your own,_

 _you are a stranger here, why have you come?_

 _Why have you come, lift me higher, let me look at the sun,_

 _look at the sun, and once I hear them clearly, say_

 _Who, who are you really?_

 _And where, where are you going?_

 _I've got nothing left to prove,_

 _Cause I've got nothing left to lose,_

 _See me bare my teeth for you,_

 _Who, who are you?_

 _Who are you Really? - Mikky Ekko_

Carlos let out a small sigh of relief, but still looked nervous, like he wasn't sure if I was telling the truth about staying.

"Are you gunna let me out of my closet?" I asked. He nodded and then quickly stepped out of my way. I walked out of the closet and back into my room.

"Are you scared of her?"

I jumped at the question. "What?"

"Your mom... Are you scared of her?" He asked.

I hesitated before answering. "I don't know."

He nodded his head. For a moment I thought he was going to start interrogating me again, but instead he just sighed and walked over to the window. He sat down on the bench and looked towards the dance.

"The maze is doing well." He stated. I walked over and sat next to him. From where we were sitting we could see a few kids standing out front, trying to get others to go in with them. Some looked like they had already gone through and just wanted to go again.

"It is." I said back.

"Mal is probably happy about that." He said. I turned back to look at him, and I could tell by his expression that he was desperately trying to make light of the situation.

"Is this what were gunna do? Make small talk to try and avoid the more serious topic at hand? " I snapped.

Carlos swallowed and looked up at me, his brown eyes catching mine. He was still wearing those stupid dog ears that seamed to bounce around every time he moved his head. "Do you want to talk about it? Every time I try to ask your about it you get really defensive... And I understand, really I do, but if your not ready yet we don't have too."

I didn't know what to say to that. He was right, I didn't want to talk about it. Was I afraid? Maybe. Afraid of his judgement. Afraid of finally admitting the horrid truth about my mother. But I couldn't avoid it. Not forever. So instead I sighed, and we began to talk, about everything, and about nothing at all. Anything that came to our heads that wasn't about our parents or the almost murder of a king, we talked about. Eventually he laughed, and then I started laughing to. We laughed as we watched exhausted and possibly drunk Auradon kids stumble back to the dorm building beneath the window, and when they had all finally gone to bed, we talked about some more odd topics. Hours flew by, and we were still talking away. I had never felt more content in my life. Seeing Carlos laugh and smile, hearing my own laugh, and knowing I felt genuinely happy. It was different for me. Eventually, Carlos talked about his hopes for his future, and then asked me about mine. I realized I didn't have any. Only a few hours before I had been planning to throw any chance I had at a life away for my mother. I was still debating if I should do it. Realizing I didn't have an answer, he smiled at me and told me that I didn't need to have an answer for the future yet. I would get one eventually. We stayed like that until sunrise, completely content, and completely avoiding the topic of the horrors that had almost occurred. It was peaceful. We were happy.

But I knew that wouldn't last very long. We couldn't avoid our pasts for ever.

/

The next time I woke up it was about 4 pm on Sunday. I Guess I had slept the day away. I had finally convinced Carlos to leave some time after the sun had risen, as he was starting the fall asleep while leaning against the window. I grunted and forced myself to get up, my stomach growling angrily at me. I took a quick shower and threw on a pair of jeans and a sweater. When I decided I looked decent enough, I headed down to the Cafeteria, where they where already serving dinner. I think they had said something about lasagna. I was too tired to care. I grabbed the first tray I saw and then lazily marched myself back to the table where Mal, Evie, and Jay sat. They all looked up in surprise.

"Mornin sunshine!" Jay said mockingly. I let out a low grunt before setting down and starting to eat.

"You and Carlos missed a great party last night! Why did you leave so early?" Evie asked, her voice louder than normal.

"I don't know... We got bored. Maze was pretty cool though." I said, glancing up at Mal when I mentioned the maze. She gave a small smile.

"Yeah. After everyone was done with the maze I headed into the dance, and I will say it was kinda lame." Mal said.

"Ugh you two are no fun!" Evie said with as she began to pout.

"I have to agree with Evie on that one. There was a killer dance off that I think Carlos would have loved if he had stuck around." Jay said. Ouch. That didn't make me feel guilty or anything.

"So what did you two do anyway?" Mal asked.

"We just... Talked"

"Talked?"

"Yeah. Wasn't much else to do." I stated. They all nodded as if in agreement, and then began to talk about some of the costumes they had seen the night before, when Carlos walked up with his dinner. He looked about as dead as I felt.

"Mornin sunshine number two! I was beginning to think you weren't gunna get up today." Jay chirped. Carlos mumbled something along the lines of Jay being too damn cheerful, before plopping down next to me.

"Omg so I found out where the drunk teens got their booze last night." Evie whispered. Booze? That was probably the last thing I needed at that moment. Sure, I had had a few drinks before, but I had never really seen the fun in getting drunk.

"Ha! For how good these Auradon kids are supposed to be, they sure do break the law a lot. Where was it?" Mal chimed in.

"Apparently Chad's parents have a HUGE cellar filled with so much alcohol of any kind that they never notice when stuff goes missing."

"Huh. Interesting." Mal stated.

"It's weird how they have to keep all that secret here. We had access to all the liquor we wanted back on the isle." Carlos mumbled.

"We're in goody-two-shoes-land now Carlos. Here it's... Different but Also... better." Jay said. Carlos nodded in agreement. I couldn't help but wonder if it really was better here. Sure we had freedom but we were still treated like freaks. After I had finished my food I said my goodbyes and headed back up to my room. When I got there I was surprised to find a letter sticking out of my door, with my name scribbled on the front. I immediately knew who it was from. I quickly grabbed the letter and went into my room, shutting the door and locking it behind me.

Shit.

I had known it was only a matter of time before she tried to contact me. Would she be angry? What did she want? I let out a sigh and slid to the floor to sit down. With a shaky hand I brought the letter into my lap and tore it open.

 _My dearest Daughter,_

 _How are you? I have missed you so much since your departure. I know life must be wonderful in Auradon-_

What the hell. I wasn't sure who had written that letter but I knew it wasn't my mother. I didn't even bother reading any further. Why would I get a letter like that? Unless... I squinted down at the letter for a few moments until I remembered. Of course. She had used magic to cover up the real letter, so if anyone where to read it, they would just see an innocent letter written from mother to daughter. We had done this before of course, back in Wasteland, so I already knew how to change the letter back. All I had to do was say the code words.

"All hail the bloody red queen." I whispered, and the letters on the page began to change, taking form of the real letter written by my mother.

 _Crimson,_

 _Everything is ready. My army is ready, the plan is ready, I even know how I'm going to get my army to Auradon. So now my question is - what is taking you so long? Why in hells name have you been in Auradon for over two weeks and done nothing? Have you forgotten your mission? You better not have. For your own sake. Remember who raised you. Remember who has taken care of you all these years. I am done waiting. I want my throne back. Do what must be done and make your mother proud. Remember who you are._

 _\- The Queen of Hearts_

I set the letter down next to me when I was done reading it. _Remember who you are._ Who was I? Was I still the killer that I had been back in Wasteland? What had made me think I was any different? I sighed and rubbed my eyes. I shouldn't have been tired, I had slept all day. I didn't bother getting up. I leaned my head back against the wall and closed my eyes. The world around me began to disappear and suddenly I understood why I was so tired. I was being shown another memory.

 _I felt dizzy. I looked around to get some idea of where I was. It looked like I was in a large and torn up mansion. The walls were dark, and most of the large windows where covered by long and torn white curtains. There was a large fireplace going in a far corner, and in front of it sat a scrawny dark skinned woman with black and white hair. She was covered in black and white fur, and was smoking what looked like a long red cigarette. I instantly knew who it was._

 _Cruella DeVil._

 _Suddenly a small child ran into the room, and only stopped when he stood directly in front of her. He was wearing a black jacket that looked worn and was covered in holes. There was a small bit of brown fur surrounding the neck of his jacket, but that looked worn too. His brown shorts and shoes looked no better off then his jacket. I Knew that had to be a younger version of Carlos._

 _"Mom?" He finally said._

 _"I told you not to call me that." Cruella responded without looking at him._

 _"Sorry... Mother?" Carlos said, fixing his mistake._

 _"Yes dear?"_

 _"Can I have dinner?"_

 _She looked down at him. I could see a sudden rage in her eyes, and by the way he stepped back, I think he could too. "Did you finish your chores?" Cruealla growled._

 _"W-well..." Carlos stammered._

 _"Well?" She almost yelled._

 _"I mean..." Carlos was beginning to look frightened, as if he regretted his decision on asking for food. He took a few more steps back as Cruella began to get out of her chair._

 _"You mean what? Speak up!"_

 _"I-I'm almost done... I'm j-just r-really hungry." His words where starting to come out in sobs._

 _"Didn't I say that you could have food when your done?" She snapped._

 _"Yes but-but-" She didn't wait for him to finish. Before he had a chance to move she grabbed him by the hair and started to drag him._

 _"No mom please! I'm sorry!" He yelled. Cruella paid no attention to his screams. She dragged him from room to room until she finally stopped at a door. I had to run to keep up with her and the screaming child. Every part of me wanted to swing at her, to tell her to stop, but I knew I could do nothing. It was only a memory. It had already happened. She grabbed him by the shoulders and forced him to face her._

 _"I tried to be nice. I told you that you could eat when you where done. Maybe next time you'll think twice before deciding to slack off." Cruella said, before opening the door wide. The room was completely dark but I swear I could see brief glimpses of light shining against sharp metal. Carlos had tears streaming down his face now, and the final look of terror was unmistakable as Cruella gave him one final shove into the room, and slammed the door behind him._

 _/_

When I opened my eyes again I was back in my room. I wanted to scream. His mother really was a monster wasn't long before I got a knock on my door.

"Hey- Crimson? I- I just wanted to check on you." I heard through the door. I stood up and opened the door to find a very distraught looking Carlos.

"It's mail day today. I was just wondering- you know if you, uh-"

"You were wondering if I got a letter from my mother trying to persuade me to finish the job?" I snapped. He gulped, but didn't answer. I brought up the letter and waved it in the air. His only response was to nod and avert his gaze.

"I got a letter too." He whispered. "F-from my mom I mean." He looked upset. Not like he was about to cry, but like something he had read on the letter really bothered him. It probably had a little to do with the memory too. "I tried to go back to sleep to forget about it, but then, that memory..." he trailed off. Again, not being an expert on handling others emotions, I nodded, sighed, moved aside, and let him in. For a moment I tried to read his thoughts, but they where too scrambled and confused for me to understand, so I stopped. He took a seat on the bench next to the window, and I took a seat on the edge of my bed across from him. I wasn't sure what to say to him. How did people handle situations like that? Ones where people need comfort or support?

"So what did it say?" I finally asked after a moment of awkward silence. _Maybe that was rude. Was that rude of me to ask?_ I wondered. Since when did I care whether or not I was being rude?

Carlos let out a small laugh. "No that wasn't rude of you to ask." I quickly began to blush. I still wasn't used to the idea of him reading my thoughts. He sighed and I looked up at him. He had his head leaned against the window sill, and the bright light of the setting sun shone against his skin. There was a small smirk that played on his face, but that was as far as it went, as his eyes looked sad, almost distant.

"She keeps asking me to go back. She's sent me a lot of letters you know. Some are angry, telling me how worthless I am, others say that she needs me. She doesn't though." Carlos said.

I looked away from him "She seems like a harsh lady." I mumbled.

"She was so much more than harsh." he whispered. I knew what he meant. I had seen enough of his memory's to understand. I looked back at him. His eyes where clouded over, and for a moment, I was convinced that he was going to cry. "Crimson... This freedom that we have here... Its not perfect, but its a lot better than what I had back at the isle. The thought of going back there... Its terrifying. Please... You cant ruin it-" he stopped talking. Tears began to stream down his face as he pulled his knees tightly to his chest and buried his face in between his arms and knees. At the time I wasn't sure what I felt. I didn't like seeing him like that. So sad. So scared. Feeling sad or sorry for someone else-it was totally new to me. Slowly I stood up and walked over to sit next to him. I reached my hand out and hesitated, before reaching out again. I placed my hand on his shoulder and he flinched, before relaxing.

"Carlos- I wont- i'm not going to do it. At least, not right now. Not until i'm sure that I want to leave Auradon behind. So for now I guess you don't need to worry about it." I whispered. I don't know what made me come to that decision. At the time I wasn't even aware that I had made a decision until I said it. But seeing him so upset... It bothered me, but I could completely understand what he was feeling.

"Promise?" Carlos mumbled.

I gulped. "Yeah." I whispered. I meant it too.

He lifted his head up slightly to look at me "I'm sorry."

I jumped at his words. "For what?"

"Crying like a baby."

I laughed. "It's ok to cry Carlos."

"Thanks." He said. After another moment I took my hand off his shoulder and sighed.

"Our parents suck." I stated

Carlos laughed. "I think that's an understatement."

"About the memory... Is that why... back at the maze you tensed up when it got dark." I asked.

He snorted. "Yeah. I'm still afraid of the dark. The room was a trap room, so no one could steal her coats, but..."

I nodded, and mentally noted how dark it was getting in my room. The sun was almost all the way set, and I had never bothered turning the light on. Without saying anything I got up and moved for the light switch. I barely took two steps before Carlos's hand reached out and grabbed mine. I almost screamed, and whirled around to look at Carlos. He had unwrapped himself from his previous position, but kept his head down so I couldn't see his face. His grip tightened around my hand.

"You don't have to turn the light on." He whispered.

"Carlos, if your afraid of the dark then-"

He cut me off. "No it's ok. Just... Sit with me. I just don't like to be alone."

I hesitated a minute before slowly moving to sit next to him again. I could feel heat beginning to rise to my face when he didn't let go of my hand. In that moment, I didn't want him to be alone either. He sighed and leaned back against the window.

"What about you, any irrational fears?" He asked.

I shrugged. "Your fear isn't irrational Carlos. But no, I was raised on the belief that I wasn't allowed to feel fear... Or anything else if we're being entirely honest."

"Yeah but that's what your mother wanted you to believe. Just because you think your not allowed to feel something doesn't mean you don't feel it." He answered. I turned to look at him, his brown eyes catching my blue ones. Was it really ok for me to express my emotions? What was I afraid of?

I already knew the answer to that.

"I'm... Afraid of her. And of my past... I'm afraid I will never be able to let go of everything I have done." I answered. I looked away when my eyes began to cloud over.

Carlos sighed. "Yeah, those aren't irrational fears." He said. We sat for a long time after that, completely content in the silence, neither of us wanting to be alone. The sun eventually set, but neither of us cared. Nobody moved to turn on the light, but Carlos seemed ok with that. Carlos never tried to move his hand from mine, and I didn't either. I didn't want to. For the first time in my life I had opened up to someone, and in return, he opened up to me.


End file.
